Footprints
by DeathbyInk
Summary: He thought he was meant to be with Nessie. She was his imprint. Of course that was before Lynn showed up, crashed his world and stole his heart. Warning:Slight abuse/mentions of abuse. Jacob/OC
1. Chapter 1

It was my first day living here in La Push, Washington. There was so much rain. I liked it. It reminded me of Vancouver. It rained a lot in Vancouver.

But, life in Vancouver just wasn't for me. Not with my mother anyways. Moving here was best for both of us. She is convinced I will be getting into less trouble down here and I can pretend she doesn't exist. So far, it was working out pretty well. And it's had only been eighteen hours!

I pushed my way through the crowded halls of my new high school. I knew this town had a small number of people but that didn't mean the school hallways had to be smaller. We still needed space.

A glance at the paper the secretary gave me told me I was getting close to my new locker. 345, 346, 347...

348. I dropped my books on the ground next to my locker and twisted the lock open. Grade eleven and I get a full size locker. My old school was so crowded I didn't have a locker. It was terrible having to carry my books around in my backpack all day. I still had shoulder problems from that.

I threw in the text books I wouldn't need today and taped a copy of my schedule to the back wall of my locker, when I was done I slammed it shut and threw the lock back on.

Locker, check. Okay, Now I just have to figure out where my classrooms are. I let out a groan. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a terrible sense of direction, I swear I don't even know the back of my hand.

I bit the thin ring on the right side of my bottom lip as I walked quickly through the halls dodging other people to get to class on time.

My first day of classes was easy enough. The teachers were just going over some review from last year and telling us about their classroom rules. They all have the same rules and all give out the same speech. I don't see why we have to sit through it for every class; why not just give it to us once and then let us go? We did have other things to do with our lives. Well, some of us. Though I'm not sure I classify in that category… I wish I did. All I want out of life right now is a break, some calm. I don't want the same old boring things over and over again but, I really needed a brake and a fresh start right now.

After school I rode my bike home. It was raining the whole time, not that I expected anything else in this area.

At home I shrugged out of my wet rain coat and converse and went to the kitchen to make some coffee.

I loved living in La Push. I had only been here for a day but it was amazing. I'll admit I loved Vancouver even more. I missed all of beautiful British Colombia. Not just Vancouver. But La Push was amazing. The forests were so lush and green even in the always, grey weather. Plus, everything was so new and interesting to me.

The house I was staying in used to be my grandmothers. Emily invited me to stay with her but I didn't want to bother her, I also liked the idea of living on my own. My mom just wanted me out of the way. So I heard a friend was going to drive to California to see some friends and I asked him to drop me off at Forks.

My jacket had not even dried yet but I was supposed to go over to Emily's for dinner to meet her husband and their son and some of their friends. I just made sure to clean my snakebites. They were still new; I had just gotten them last week. I wanted to get them done on my sixteenth but I decided to wait a little while longer to decide what I wanted. I chose snakebites in the end; one thin silver ring through each side of my bottom lip. They hurt, but it was definitely worth it.

I put my still wet rain jacket and converse back on and went to get my bike. It isn't a long to ride down to Emily's, only about fifteen minutes.

I knocked on the door when I got there and Emily opened it, hurrying me in.

"So good to see you again Lynn," she hugged me. The scars on her face weren't as strong when I last saw her, about a month after she got them. It seemed like for ever since I'd been down here.

"You too," I smiled.

"Nice to see you again," called Sam from the living room.

I just smiled at him. I was used to having to look up to people, but he was taller than I was used to. But then again, at sixteen, I was only five foot two so most people that I knew towered over me. Still, it's not every day you see someone as tall as Sam.

Emily led me to the kitchen where baby Kyle was sitting in a high chair, waving around a spoon with his left hand.

"Hey Kyle, sweetie," I smiled at him and he laughed. We'd only met once before but we got along well. Which is a lot coming from me; normally I have no patience with little kids.

I helped Emily with cooking and setting the table. There must be a lot of people coming over with all the food we were making; potatoes, fish, meat, salad, chicken pot pie, a sort of stew and the list went on.

"They eat a lot," Emily said and then laughed when she saw the look on my face.

I rolled my eyes and laughed along with her. What is the point of me dieting if I was just going to eat dinner here? Emily is a great cook and I had absolutely no will power.

Soon there were a lot of people, including Emily, Sam, Kyle and I, crowded around the table enjoying Emily's amazing cooking. All of the guys were tall. All reaching at least six feet.

I met Quill and Embry for the first time but Claire and I had obviously met before seeing as we were cousins.

I was introduced to the Clearwater's. Leah didn't seem like the kind of person that smiled much but Seth, that kid was sunshine in a bottle.

"And now you just haven't met Jacob. He's just visiting his girlfriend. She moves around a lot so they like to be able to see each other whenever they get the chance," Seth explained to me while stuffing potatoes into his mouth.

I nodded and took a sip of my water.

Dinner was fun. The guys all joked around and Emily and Leah were scolding them a lot but you could tell they were laughing along silently as well.

"So Lynn, what grade did you say you were in now?" Sam asked me.

"Eleven," I told him smiling. My favourite part of any conversation. The part where they stare at me wide eyed and tell me I look way older than that. It was nice when I was fourteen and looked eighteen. Made getting into 18+ movies loads easier.

Paul gave me a funny look for a second, "You look a lot older than that."

I laughed, "I get that a lot."

After dinner Emily and I were putting the dishes into the sink. The front door opened and another guy walked in.

He was really tall. Like I said, I'm only 5'2 so I have to look up to most people, but this guy was huge. He looked to be about twenty-five and had tanned skin and dark brown hair and a perfect body. I felt my face heat up and I bit my lip. This guy was pretty hot.

"Jacob!" Emily scolded, although she sounded sarcastic to me "You're late. For a minute I thought you weren't going to come."

"And miss your delicious cooking?" Jacob's eyes widened in mock disbelief, "Never."

The guys just laughed and Jacob rolled his eyes at them and grinned. Emily dragged him towards the kitchen table for some food. Not that he argued. Is it just me, or do all these guys eat like pigs?

"Lynn, this is Jacob, Jacob, this is Lynn," Emily introduced us, "Can you please go grab a plate for him sweetie?"

I nodded. Jacob and I shared a quick smile and then I turned back into the kitchen and grabbed a plate. I hated being short. It involved not being able to reach the plates because Emily kept them on the top shelf. I swear I felt Jacob staring at me the whole time.

I finally managed to get one down and put it on the table in front of him. He muttered a quick thanks. My eyes met his for a second and my heart jumped. He had warm dark eyes smiling up at me.

The game they were watching on TV in the living room could be heard in the kitchen. When Jacob was done he grinned at me then went to the living room and Emily and I started on the dishes.

"So how do you like it here so far?" Emily asked me, a knowing smile spread across her face.

"It's nice I guess," I shrugged and saw her smile falter for a second, "but, I mean, it is only my first day. I'm sure I'll grow to like it soon enough."

"I think you will," Emily laughed. It sounded like she knew something I didn't, so I raised an eyebrow at her. In response, she simply shook her head with a grin.

"Hey Em?" said Jacob, appearing through the doorway, "let me finish the dishes, go enjoy the game."

"Sure," Emily threw the drying cloth at Jacob then left for the living room.

"Hey," said Jacob.

"Hi," I sounded lame. Who the hell says 'hi' these days?

"So where're you from?" he asked.

"Vancouver, Canada."

Jacob laughed, "So all the rain we get here isn't anything new to you?"

"Definitely not. I don't mind either way though. I like the rain and the cold weather. I actually think it's very... nice."

"A few days of our crappy weather and people can't wait to get out of here," Jacob took the cold wet plate from my hands.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It was, I admit, slightly annoying getting all wet on my way to school and then having to sit through my classes like that," I shrugged.

"I see, what grade are you in?" he asked. I laughed a little. Here it was again, my favourite part.

"Eleven. Graduating this year I hope," I smiled.

"You look older than that, despite that fact that you're like two inches tall," he said, "So your some real smart-ass that gets straight A's all the time, no exceptions?"

"Sort of," No, I just enjoyed living. When you have a mother that would kill you for bad grades, then straight A's are nice. Plus the faster I get out of high school the better. I hate it. It is so boring and annoying and wastes lots of time, "And I am not two inches tall. I'm sixty two inches tall. There's a difference."

"You're still short, kid," he laughed.

"How old are you?" I asked him.

"Nineteen," he grinned.

"Getting old there?" I joked. I always came up with the worst jokes ever.

"Hey! Age is just a number, anyways. I'm young at heart."

********

My alarm clock was a painfully rude awakening that I got to look forward to every morning.

I forced myself to crawl out of bed and go to the kitchen for breakfast. Getting dressed can wait. No, forget getting dressed, there's nothing wrong with me going in my pyjamas is there? With a sigh I told myself that that probably wouldn't have been the best idea.

After my usual cheerios breakfast, I got dressed and headed for school.

I locked my bike in the usual spot and ran to my first class. Science.

Of course my first class of the day had to be my least favourite. I felt my eyes sliding shut and I honestly did try my best to stay awake, but when you've got a teacher like Mr. Cril it's all but impossible.

At home, I spent the day unpacking my stuff. Emily came over to help for a little while with Kyle.

By the end of the day, I'd finally gotten the book shelves to be done just the way I wanted in my new bedroom. I smiled at myself proudly and went to find something to make for dinner.

My fridge was practically empty so Emily told me we'd have dinner at her place. Deciding to go buy food after dinner, we made our way to Emily's.

Sam was off with the guys somewhere so it was just Emily, Kyle and I for dinner that night. Emily and I watched some lame cooking show as Kyle played with the TV remote which he suddenly found fascinating.

"You were right," I said, "The other day I mean, when you said I would grow to like this place more."

"I thought you might," Emily nodded, "You and Jacob seem to have gotten along well the other night."

"He's alright," I shrugged. I did like him though. He was sweet and funny and could actually keep a good conversation without staring at my chest the entire time. That was something I really appreciated. Plus, he was crazy hot.

Emily smiled a little and shook her head.

"What?" I asked, "You keep getting that look on your face. What do you know that I don't?"

"Nothing," she answered a little too quickly, along with a shrug. She fought to keep a straight face. Obviously not a battle she was going to win. She knew something. Even if she didn't, that expression she got was starting to bug me. Probably nothing to do with me. I should just stay out of it. After all, curiosity _did_ kill the cat.

* * *

Yes! I am back from the dead! Well, not quite dead but I might as well have been dead to this site. I'm back now. With, obviously, a new story. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it and make my day by dropping off a review on your way out so I know what you think of my newest story.

Yours truly,

Michelle


	2. Chapter 2

It was raining harder than usual today. This, for this little corner of the world, was saying something. By the time I had reached Emily's house and jumped off my bike I was soaked to the bone. I didn't think the rain would ever dry off.

As soon as Emily saw me, she dragged me into the house and wrapped me in a warm blanket. She scolded me for not wearing a proper rain jacket, and I told her I didn't need one. Then she scolded me about being stubborn.

I heard some yelling as I came in, it seemed to be coming from the garage. I thought I heard Jacob and I didn't recognize the second voice, which sounded like a girl. He probably just pissed his girlfriend off.

"His girlfriend's mom," Emily said rolling her eyes, "Nothing unusual."

I nodded.

"They argue a lot?" I asked.

"No. But with those people it's not too surprising with all that has been happening," Emily shrugged, "Anyways, let me get you something to eat."

She dragged me to the kitchen where she passed me a plate from the cupboard as I couldn't reach it myself. I went to the fridge and started piling food onto my plate.

"You eat a lot," she said and I laughed a little, knowing it wasn't meant as an insult. It was true.

I stayed there and watched Kyle while Sam was at work and Emily went to get the groceries. After finishing eating, I watched TV while Kyle sat on the floor with building blocks.

Emily came home about an hour later and I helped her put away the groceries before getting ready to leave. My jacket hadn't even dried and already I had to go back out into the pouring rain.

"Lynn?" Emily called from the kitchen, "Do me a favour and drop this off at Jacob's on your way home."

She tossed me a plastic bag and gave me his address. It was right on the way to my house.

When I got to his house, the garage doors were open so I rode my bike into the garage away from the rain and got off. After a quick look around I saw various auto parts lying around everywhere and a Black Volkswagen Rabbit. From the late 80's, I'd say. Then again, I don't know much about cars.

The hood was up and Jacob was leaning over the car with a wrench. Might I add that he was shirtless?

"Hey," I called.

He looked up and seemed surprised to see me there. I threw the plastic bag at him and he caught it effortlessly. Amazing arms, and let's not forget those abs. My face must have been the color of a tomato by now.

"Emily told me to give that to you," I shrugged and bit my lip. I took in a deep breath of cold air and let it out slowly.

"Thanks."

I walked over to where he was standing and looked at the car.

"Nice car."

A smirk stretched its way across his face, "Yep. There was something wrong with it earlier though. Nothing big, I fixed it though, so it'll work fine. Wanna ride?"

Before I could stop it the smile lodged itself onto my lips and I answered him eagerly, "Yes please."

He tossed me the keys and we got in. I pushed in the keys and the engine started. I pulled out of the garage careful not to run anything over or hit my bike which, which I should have put closer to the wall.

"I knew I got it right that time," Jacob looked proud of himself and I smiled at him.

"Late 80's, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, 1986," he told me, "How'd you know?"

I just shrugged, "I just knew. A friend of mine had one only it was slightly earlier version. 81 I think."

I sped down the road and made a sharp turn.

"So how long did you say you've had your license?" Jacob asked.

"Don't have it yet," I said smiling, "But don't worry I won't hurt your car."

"This car is like my child. You hurt it and I will kill you."

"Good luck," I snorted, "I just might surprise you with my kick-ass ninja skills."

"What kick-ass ninja skills?" Jacob asked.

We laughed and I turned on the radio. I loved music. It was so relaxing.

He was great to talk to. He also listened when I talked. I don't know where I was driving; I just knew I was driving somewhere. I should have gone straight to my house but I wanted to stay in the car and talk to Jacob. Jacob didn't complain or say anything about me not driving home and he seemed to be enjoying himself too. I stopped at a park and we switched sides. He drove for the rest of the time.

"So do you like La Push any more than before now?" He asked me not taking his eyes off the road.

"Yes, actually I do," I told him, a smile played on my lips, "Well, some of it anyways. Okay, everything except for the school part of it is good with me."

"What's wrong with school?" Jacob asked, "Not that I can blame you for not liking that place, just curious."

"I don't know, it's just so annoying sometimes," I wasn't sure how to answer that one. What was it about school that bothered me so much? Other than the whole no friend's thing. "Like they don't want me there or something and that I don't belong there. I know, I know, every teenager in the freaking world feels like that. 'Oh I don't belong and everyone hates me and blah-blah-blah!' But still, that's how it is for me at school."

"I remember that feeling from when I was your age," he laughed, "I loved someone and she didn't feel the same. She chose some guy that wasn't and still isn't good for her. I was such an angst ridden teen. I'm over that whole thing now, I still think that he isn't good for her, but I don't love her anymore, I'm not sure I ever did. She never loved me either, even if she does say otherwise. But I think I just wanted someone. Even if she wasn't that some one. I'm not exactly the patient type."

"Well she made a mistake choosing the other guy. When you find someone then I bet she's going to be really jealous of whoever it is." How could she not be?

Jacob just shrugged, "Maybe."

"Don't you have a girlfriend now anyways?"

"I think she and I are sort of finished. I don't feel the same anymore. I still like her but more like a sister than anything else. It's complicated," Jacob frowned. Now, I was curious, but I didn't push it.

We drove in silence back to his garage. He parked the car and we got out.

"Oops," I heard him say, "knocked over my bike."

He picked up a silver motorcycle and stood it back up.

"I've always wanted one. Mum would kill me if I ever rode one, though," I frowned. Mom would kill me for just about anything.

"Maybe I'll let you ride it sometime," Jacob said.

"That would be fantastic."

Jacob and I became fast friends. We hung out and went to the movies with the other guys, it was fun. I found out that Seth went to my school but I wouldn't see him much because we were in different grades, and therefore didn't have any classes together.

I was used to completely unpredictable weather from living in Vancouver so I wasn't surprised to wake up one morning to fine snow piling high outside my bedroom window at the end of November.

One more week of school and I would be out for the holidays. This was great because I couldn't really ride my bike through the snow. I loved snow. It was just such a bother for me for getting to and from school.

I was getting ready for school when someone knocked on the door. Jacob was standing outside my house. He was definitely not dressed for winter; he wore jeans, Runners, and a sweater over his long sleeved shirt.

"You're going to get sick walking around in the cold like that," I said.

"I never realized you'd be so worried, but then again, if I died of a cold, how would you go on without me?" he said and I felt my face heat up, "Nah, I don't get cold easily so I'll be just fine."

I eyed him doubtfully then invited him in. I continued going about getting ready for school and shoving things into my backpack.

"I thought you'd need a ride to school," Jacob said, "No way I'm letting you ride that piece of trash to school through snow, and no way you're going to walk."

I could have hugged him then for how happy I was. Now my toes wouldn't freeze and fall off.

We got into his car and closed the doors and it wasn't until we pulled out of the driveway that I noticed something.

"Why don't you have the heater on, it's so cold here," I said.

"I told you, I don't get cold that easily."

It was freezing outside and it didn't seem to bother him at all. What the hell? I just shook my head at him and thanked him for the ride as I got out of the car. He asked if he should pick me up and I nodded and thanked him again.

One great thing about being invisible at school is that the cool crowd doesn't throw their shit at you and bullies don't really notice you either. Basically everyone just leaves you alone.

I was one of those invisible people that everyone would leave alone. Or so I thought.

Until lunchtime today, anyway. That was when he saw me at the school library today. I was trying to reach a book from the top shelf. Of course, me being much too short, I couldn't reach it.

He came up behind me, plucked the book off the shelf and handed it to me with a smirk.

He was about five foot eleven, making him much taller than me. His blond curls were messy and his ice blue eyes were smiling at me. His lips formed a smirk across the smooth pale skin of his face.

"Um, thanks," I said smiling at him.

"Yeah, no problem," he shrugged, "You're new here right?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm Lynn."

"Marcus."

He seemed nice enough, and we sat together for lunch. The bell rang and I gathered up my books and shoved them into my backpack.

"See you around," I said over my shoulder, walking out.

That school week dragged along painfully slow. Tests and quizzes were already coming up and we had a short story due in creative writing class.

I stayed after school one day to work on my art project and then called Emily to ask if she could pick me up. I waited outside the back of the school, dressed warmly in boots and a trench coat with two sweaters underneath, mittens, a scarf and sweat pants.

My IPod headphones were glued to my ears and an old Beatles song was blasting loudly, distracting me from the world, so I didn't notice when Marcus walked towards me and leaned next to me against the brick wall.

"Hey Lynn?" he asked me, "I was wondering, do you want to go to the movies with me this weekend?"

"Yeah, sure," I said trying to stay calm, although I could feel my cheeks burning. Finally, I wasn't a complete loner. Looks like I had a date. We decided to go on Friday, after school.

He was leaning close to me when Jacob drove up in his rabbit, waving at me.

"Well, I got to go. I'll see you later," I told Marcus. A frown flickered across his face but then he smiled and watched me go.

"So uh, who was that?" Jacob asked. It almost sounded like he was jealous. Not that that could happen. Right?

I told him about my date and he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

Jacob drove to the grocery store, since Billy, Jake's dad, asked him to pick up some things. I was standing on the end of the shopping cart and he was pushing it forward down the isle.

"I don't like him," said Jacob, "Marcus, I mean."

"You don't have to like him," I shrugged.

"I know," he sighed, "Just… never mind."

He seemed really tense the whole ride home. I stayed quiet. He didn't have to like Marcus if he didn't want to.

When we got to his house I helped him put everything away and we sat on the couch and watched 'Two and a Half Men.'

"Do you have a fever or something?" I asked, concerned.

"Uh, no? Why?" Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"You're really hot."

"Hmm, so you think I'm hot?" Jacob laughed, "That was a really lame way of saying so."

"You know what I mean," I glared at him.

"Nah, I'm fine."

I wasn't sure I believed him, but didn't bother to argue. He could be really stubborn sometimes.

****

On Friday after school I was in Marcus' car and we were on our way to the theatres. The radio was on loud and we had a good time watching Ninja Assassin. Though he actually seemed scared at some parts. While I, on the other hand, got yelled at for laughing so much. Gory and bloody movies made me laugh. It wasn't my fault.

He invited me over to his place but it was getting late and I needed to go home to my laptop. I hated being away from my laptop for too long.

"Goodnight," I said.

"Goodnight."

But just before he left he pulled me towards him and pressed his lips against my own.

****

I got up and got dressed the next day and walked to his house as it wasn't far from mine.

There, we watched TV and had a few drinks. I mixed my vodka with chocolate ice cream. I thought it tasted great like that.

We didn't get too drunk though, and had a good time.

On Monday I sat with him and his friends at lunch. They were all so nice to me and it felt so good to be accepted. At school I would hand out with them and then after school I had Jacob and Emily and the guys.

When school was out for the holiday I arranged a shopping trip with Jacob. I couldn't wait. We didn't get to see each other quite as often now that I was spending lots of time with Marcus, who I was starting to really like.

I told Marcus I wouldn't be able to come over that day because I was going shopping with Jacob.

"I don't like that kid or his friends. Maybe you shouldn't hang out with them so much," he said over the phone.

I convinced him it would be fine and went with Jacob anyways.

Jacob's car pulled up in front of my house just as I was putting my snow boots on. I ran out and jumped into the car.

"So how'd it go with Marcus?" he asked.

"Good," I said, "I like him, he is – hey! Wait a minute; why are we always talking about my love life. What about you and your girlfriend and what did you do to piss her mom off like that?"

"Her mom, Bella, found out that I was having hot sex with her husband," he looked dead serious, "No, I just broke up with her and her mom wasn't too happy about it."

"Oh, I see," I said.

We spent the whole day shopping, and I bought Emily new snow boots. I wasn't sure what to get everyone else but Emily said they would be perfectly happy if we just cooked a big dinner for them. I agreed to that one. I still needed to get Marcus something and I wanted to get Jake something too but I wasn't sure what to get him.

I asked him but he just shrugged. Boy was he helpful.

"Come on! I'll feel so bad if I don't get you anything!" I said.

Jacob just laughed and shoved me playfully.

"Fine then. I guess I _won't_ get you anything," I said.

We went into a small restaurant after a few hours of shopping. The shopping bags were in the car and all the snow in the world was in my shoes.

The food there was great. They served breakfast all day so Jacob and I ordered Waffles, eggs, bacon and pancakes and then split them.

"So how is everything going with Marcus?" asked Jacob.

"Great," I smiled, "He's really nice and I'm starting to really like him. I mean, I had doubts at first but..."

Jacob nodded. He seemed calm but I noticed he was gripping the edge of the table with one hand, shaking.

"Are you alright?" I asked, worried.

"Yeah, I mean, no. I uh, think I'm coming down with something," He muttered quickly.

The bill came and I started taking out my wallet but Jacob stopped me and paid for everything. He really didn't seem well so I drove home. I drove to his house and parked the car in the garage. Inside, I threw him a bottle of Advil and told him to take one. Instead, he just shook his head and put them aside.

We put in a movie and I stayed with him for a while before heading over to Marcus' house.

"Call me when you feel better, alright?" I asked.

Jacob shot me a grin and nodded. I smiled but inwardly rolled my eyes. I wonder what was up with this guy?


	3. Chapter 3

"You were shopping with him all day?" Marcus asked, "I don't like that kid."

"Its fine, and he's not a kid, he's nineteen." I rolled my eyes.

Marcus seemed to really hate Jacob. I was sitting next to him on the couch, his arm around me. I had my favourite vodka and chocolate ice cream mix in front of me.

"Still, I don't like him," Marcus frowned and I kissed him.

"You don't have to like him," I said laughing. Guys these days, so immature.

"Doesn't that stuff make people fat?" he asked pointed at my vodka-ice cream mix.

"Hey!" I said, offended, "This stuff is amazing! It is totally worth the extra thousand calories."

What crawled up his ass and died today?

"Sorry, I haven't been feeling too great lately," he told me. First Jacob and now Marcus? Maybe there was a bug starting to get around. I was about to say something about Jacob feeling sick too but then decided it might be better not to. I sat curled up in Marcus' arms, a great way to stay warm.

I left a little later and went to Emily's for dinner. I helped cook, of course. The guys were all out somewhere but Kim and Paul's girlfriend and Jacob's sister Rachel were over and Emily was cooking when I got there.

Emily asked me a lot about Marcus and what I thought of him.

"Jacob got to you didn't he?" I asked.

"No," said Emily, "He got to Sam and then Sam told me."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, I like him. He's nice." I left it at that. I wasn't sure why but I didn't want to talk about him with Emily or anyone else.

He was going to see his dad and stepmom for a few days though and he wouldn't be back until Christmas Eve.

Kim and Rachel and I talked about school and they told me about some of their high school experiences. Rachel was a troublemaker. She kind of reminded me of Jacob. While Kim was one of those good kids that bad, but funny things kept happening too.

Apparently Rachel had a twin named Rebecca who was going to come to La Push for the Holidays. He never talked much about his family so I didn't even know. I thought it was wired, how I always hung out with him and we were pretty close now but I still didn't know that much about him. What was is favourite song? Favourite food? Did he like to read? I made a mental note to ask him about it sometime.

I stayed at Emily's that night. After I had taken a shower I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror with only my underwear on. Maybe Marcus was right and I was eating too much. I could be such a pig sometimes. I poked my stomach. Well, I never was as skinny as some girls. But then again they didn't have my amazing curves either. I had a full chest and hips with a narrow waist to make that hour glass shape. But maybe I was a little on the larger side.

I shook my head and pulled on my Christmas pajamas. They white pants with green and red Christmas trees and the red long sleeved shirt with three stockings on it. They always made me feel safe and warm.

Besides, I stopped caring what people thought a long time ago. I'm not going to try and impress them. Society is going to hate you no matter what.

I spent most of my time with Jacob and the guys. Seth just broke up with his girlfriend. They joked about it a little and left it at that. He didn't seem to be too bothered by it either.

We were over at Paul's house one night watching Zombieland. It had just been released on DVD. It was one of my favourite movies. It was so funny. We laughed so hard throughout the whole thing and the Bill Murray scene just killed me, it was just hilarious.

I haven't been spending too much time with them seeing as I was with Marcus all the time and it was great being able to see and talk to them again.

Christmas came quickly. We were all down at Emily and Sam's. Presents were being piled high under a large, extravagantly decorated tree. Emily and I were in the kitchen cooking away like crazy while everyone else was enjoying themselves. We got the guys to help us set the table and we all sat together to eat. The food was gone almost the moment it hit the table.

"That was the most amazing dinner I'd ever had," Paul said looking at me and Emily, "Not only are you nice on the eyes but you're an amazing cook too!"

I laughed, "Nah, Emily did most of it; I just kind of stood there uselessly asking if there was anything I could do to help."

"Yeah," Emily nodded in agreement, "Pretty much. That's what I had Rebecca and Leah for though. They actually did something useful."

We shared a look and then laughed. I noticed Leah smiling a little. I don't think I had seen her smile yet. It was good to know she could actually laugh a little. Kim, Rachel and I could cook. We just couldn't do it well.

Afterwards I was sitting between Paul and Jarred with a thick red Santa hat that fell over my ears while Rachel took pictures. Apparently she was majoring in photography at Washington State. Then I took the camera and got a picture of her and Paul under the mistletoe.

Leah brought out a big plate of Christmas cookies. She made them really well. They were gone in ten seconds flat. She looked so proud; I had to snap a picture of her and the cookies. She was actually smiling in the picture.

Jacob came up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. Rachel snapped a quick picture.

"Hey, you'll have to give me that picture," I told her.

"Yeah no problem. I was actually going to go to Seattle soon. You should come with me. I can get them done there. We don't have Walmart anywhere near here," she rolled her eyes.

I just got the chance to nod when Paul came and pulled her into a kiss. He seemed to love her so much.

Quil called me into the kitchen to help him make some hot chocolate. Soon everyone was trying to get their hands on a hot steaming mug of the stuff. Quil was helping little Claire with her mug of hot chocolate while her parents, Jane and Rob, were talking to Emily and Sam.

We opened presents after dinner.

"Lynn?" Jacob asked and I turned to face him, "Thanks. I just might stop losing my keys all the time now."

He held up the keychain I had gotten him for Christmas, which had a wolf and a car on it. He had often complained about not being able to find his keys so I figured that if he kept them all together they would be easier to find.

"I know," I said, "Its crap. But it's your own fault for not telling me what to get you."

He pulled me into a tight hug and then handed me my present.

It was a small box wrapped in purple. I opened it to find two rings for my snakebites. One black and one white. A smile found its way onto my face. They were perfect. I loved my piercings so much.

"Thank you!" I smiled and laughed.

"Well, I figured you needed something to put in those holes in your face," Jacob shrugged and grinned.

"Hey!" I punched him in the stomach and pulled my hand back, "What the hell? Do you have a brick wall strapped to your stomach or something?"

"Those are called abs, honey," he flicked the Santa hat off my head and laughed.

That is how the rest of the night went. Presents, eating and laughing. It was probably one of my better Christmases. Usually my mother and I would just sit awkwardly or argue over something stupid and she would try to ground me but I would ignore her and just walk out. That's when she brought out the alcohol or pills. Then I'd find her passed out on the kitchen floor. She would do anything to get her hands on those precious pills of hers. Anything.

Selling her stuff. Selling my stuff. My body...

In all honesty, I was not at all disappointed she was sending me here. In fact, I couldn't wait to get out of that hell hole and move on with my life. Even if it did mean leaving everything behind. People here were nicer to me anyways. Life here was much nicer and quieter than back with my mother. I missed Vancouver so much that it hurt, but at least I was away from my mother.

My eyes started to sting at the memory and I excused myself and went to the bathroom. There I leaned over the sink and looked into the mirror.

"Lynn?" I heard Sam, "Are you alright?"

I wiped my eyes on the back of my green sleeve and said yes in as strong a voice as I could manage.

I cleaned myself up quickly and went back to enjoy the party. It truly was one of the best Christmases I had ever had.

By the time Jacob drove me home I was dead tired and only after a few minutes of fumbling with the keys did I manage to get the door open. Jacob followed me inside and I made us hot chocolate.

"Jacob?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he sat next to me on the couch and handed me a mug of hot chocolate.

"What happened to your mom?" I asked.

"I...well," he sighed, "She and Billy were visiting some friends in Seattle. On the drive home, well, it was a head on collision. The other driver was drunk and he and my mother died on the scene. Billy was left unconscious with bad injuries. Billy's injuries got worse over the years. That's mostly why he's in a wheelchair."

"Oh that must have really sucked," I said getting up from the couch and going to the fridge. I grabbed us both a beer and came back and sat down, "Here" I handed him the beer.

"Thanks," He popped it open and lifted the bottle to his mouth, "my turn to ask a question. Why do you live here by yourself? Why not go live with Emily? How did you get this house?"

"I think that's more than one question," I said, "I live here by myself because I needed my own space for a while. I came here to get away from my mother and her drug obsession. I've had to put up with a lot of shit and I just got sick of it and had to get away. My grandmother, whom I love very much, passed away a little while ago. She left me her house and money and most of what was in the house that she hasn't thrown out. I still couldn't bring myself to go through any of it though."

"Maybe we can do it together sometime? I knew Rosanne. When your grandfather died she thought I should have his car," Jacob laughed, "I was only fifteen at the time, I think. Maybe it was sixteen. Something like that, anyways."

"That sounds like her," I said, "Actually, I would really appreciate that. If you helped me I mean. This house isn't exactly big, but there is so much stuff..."

I forgot what I was going to say next when I saw the way Jacob looking at me. I hadn't realized how close he was sitting. I could feel his warmth washing over my skin. He was so close. I could just feel his lips on mine. I gasped and pulled away.

"Sorry Lynn," he said, "I think the alcohol might be getting to me."

A complete lie. He'd only had two beers. No way was that going to make him kiss me. I played along anyways.

"Yeah," I smiled. He got up of the couch and I shivered a little. It was cold without him. But no, I had Marcus. Sweet and funny Marcus.

"I should probably leave now," Jacob said.

"Goodnight." I said.

When he left, I changed into my pajamas and wrapped a blanket around myself. Maybe it was time to sort out some of this stuff. I had been here for months and had barely touched anything except for the guestroom I was staying in and the kitchen.

Maybe I should start with her room? I turned on all the lights and was on my way to grandma's room when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Merry Christmas, Lynn's."

"Oh, Hi Marcus, Merry Christmas. How did yours go?" I asked, maybe going through grandmas stuff can wait until later.

"Great. I was skiing with my dad mostly. I just got back about an hour ago."

I knew it was late but I wanted to stay and talk to Marcus. He told me all about how much fun it was and what he did. I told him about dinner at Emily's. I downplayed it a little though. I didn't want him to think I'm happy that I didn't get to spend Christmas with him. I definitely didn't tell him about almost kissing Jacob. Heat poured into my cheeks at the memory. Soon enough, the clock in the kitchen told me it was midnight. I finished my talk with Marcus and hung up.

It was one in the morning but I did need to go do this. Why else would she leave everything here for me? Why not throw it out when she found out that she was going to die? I wish she'd left a bit more of an explanation.

Well, it was too late to ask now. But I had a feeling I would find out soon enough anyways.


	4. Chapter 4

My mother was like that too, now my boyfriend? Didn't I come here to get away from this kind of thing?

No. He wouldn't end up like her. I was sure of it. It was probably a onetime thing anyways. All teenagers get drunk and do stupid things at some point right? I used to do stupid things all the time. I would drink and drive, graffiti, smoking, among other things. Not drugs though, never drugs. Not after seeing what they can lead you to.

I wasn't sure what to do now so I went to Jacob's house. When I knocked, I heard Billy's voice call and tell me to come in. Inside, Billy was watching TV.

"Jake's still in bed if you're here to see him," he grinned at me. He had that same look on his face that Emily did when she was talking to me about Jacob. They knew something. What did they know? I was going to die of curiosity.

"Morning Lynn, morning Billy," I hadn't noticed Jacob come into the room.

He was shirtless again. He must have noticed my blushing like crazy when I saw him. I hated when I blushed. My face would go so red and it was so embarrassing.

"Have you had breakfast yet or would you like waffles?" Jake asked me.

"I think I'm alright," I shrugged.

"Yeah, Emily probably has something better than this frozen crap they call waffles. Let's go," he said.

We drove down to Emily's on Jacob's motorcycle. The smell of bacon and eggs hit me the moment I stepped in through the front door.

"Emily, that smells amazing. Why don't we all weigh like a thousand pounds?" I asked.

"With how much these fatties eat, believe me, I've got no idea," Emily laughed.

Sam walked into the room and placed a kiss on her lips and took a plate full of eggs and bacon out of her hand.

Jacob helped himself and I just poured myself a glass of orange juice and stuck with that.

Embry and Paul ran in a few minutes later.

"Morning everyone. Thanks for breakfast Emily," Embry smiled at Emily and started filling up his own plate.

"Nessie's waiting outside to talk to you Jake," said Paul, rolling his eyes.

Jacob frowned a little. Who was Nessie?

"Ex-girlfriend," Embry answered once Jacob was out of ear-shot.

I nodded.

I heard yelling outside though i couldn't make out words. I raised my eyebrow at Paul.

"She is...stubborn," he sounded like he was trying to find the right words, "everything has to be about her. When the attention shifts even slightly...then she makes up a load of crap to get the spotlight back on her."

"She's not as bad as Paul makes her out to be," Emily added, "Though I can't say I like her myself all that much."

"Oh, I see," I said, not sure what else to say.

They yelling quieted down and it was silent for a few minutes before Jacob came back in with a scowl etched upon his face.

"Thanks for breakfast Emily," Jacob said, "but we've got to go. See you guys later."

He took my hand and led me out the kitchen and outside. His grip on my hand was tight.

"Ow," I said quietly, "That hurts, Jake."

"Sorry," he loosened his grip on my hand.

I got onto the back of his motorcycle and wrapped my arms around his waist.

If he drove recklessly when he was mad, he must have been furious this time. He turned a sharp corner and went right over a thick tree branch. I held on tighter not wanting to fall off. This reminded me of that course we all had to take in school last year. Telling us how to stay safe on the road and not let our friends drive when they're either drunk or emotional.

Letting Jacob drive probably wasn't the best idea but it was too late now. All I could do now was hope that Jake didn't get us killed and hold on to him tightly.

I hadn't noticed when we stopped in his garage.

"Lynn?" Jacob asked, "I know I'm irresistible and all but you can let go now?"

Oh look at that, we got to his house alive and in one piece.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly and let go quickly.

He forced a laugh then we went into his house. I sat on the couch while he went to the fridge and made himself a quick sandwich. He came and sat next to me on the couch.

"What's wrong?" he asked me. I hadn't noticed I was rubbing my side.

"Nothing," I answered too quickly.

"Lynn?" he looked at me dead serious.

"It is nothing," I insisted and crossed my arms and winced when my hand fell on my ribs.

Jacob didn't ask again he leaned over and took my wrist and moved my arm out of his way and I struggled to move away.

"Jake..." No. I would not cry in front of him. But my attempts were in vein as I felt a tear slide down my cheek.

"What the hell?" Jacob said, sounding angry, "He did this to you didn't he?"

I nodded silently. Yes it was him. He was drunk when I got to his house this morning and unhappy that I didn't spend Christmas with him. He passed out though and I'm sure everything will be fine tomorrow.

He was still staring at the bruise on my ribs when I realised my button up shirt was completely unbuttoned and I blushed buttoning them back up together.

"You broke up with him right?" Jacob asked, shaking violently.

"He uh, won't remember anything tomorrow probably," I didn't want to answer his question, "it was stupid, don't worry about it it won't happen again."

"Yeah," Jacob said, "It won't happen again because you broke up with him right?"

I opened my mouth but words wouldn't come out.

Jacob got up from the couch abruptly and paced around the small room. I sat there feeling two inches tall and grabbed the blanket thrown across the edge of the couch and pulled it up to my ears.

"You need to leave him," Jacob said, leaning over me.

"Yeah, uh, we'll see when I talk to him tomorrow," I muttered, "Can I get another blanket? It's cold."

Jacob went to the closet and pulled out another blanket then came and sat behind me and wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer then pulled the blanket over us.

"Better?" He asked. It was better. He was so warm and very comfortable to lie on.

"I'll talk to Marcus," I said, "You're right. I'm going to leave him."

"Thank God," I thought I heard Jacob say, but I was already asleep.

I slept well. When I woke up, I was confused for a second as to why I was not in my room or in my bed and why I wasn't alone on the couch. After one of those mini heart attacks called 'adrenaline' I remembered what had happened and got up.

"Hey," said Jacob.

"Oh," I said, surprised, "I didn't realise you were up."

"Yeah, I've been up for a while," he said, "I went outside for a little while then came back in and you were still sleeping."

"How long was I asleep?" I asked.

"A few hours," he shrugged, "It's almost eight now."

"Oh," i said, "so do you want to go to my house now? You know, my grandmas stuff and all?"

"Oh yeah," he said, "let's go."

I rolled off the couch and we went out into the garage.

"Hey," I said, "Can I try driving the motorcycle?"

"Have you ever done it before?" Jacob asked, looking at me, unsure.

"Once," I shrugged, "I can do it well enough to not crash and get you killed."

"It's not me I'm worried about," he said. It sounded like he wasn't telling me something either. Did everyone know but me? If so, what did they know that I didn't? I made a mental note to ask Emily about it later.

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

In the end he let me drive. I think I went a little too fast. But hey, I was the only person on the road and it was fun driving fast.

In my house, I put on some coffee and we decided to start with the little library room downstairs and work our way out from there.

I looked through her desk drawer for a ring of keys. She kept all her keys on it. Just in case she left any locked doors.

The first door, the red one in the kitchen that lead downstairs, was not locked. I pushed it open and it let out a loud groan.

I peered into the doorway and started walking down the creaky staircase.

"Boo."

I jumped. I turned to glare at Jacob. I get scared too easily.

At the bottom of the stairs I found a light switch and flipped it up.

We were in a fairly large rectangular room. Shelves covered most of the walls. There was a soft cushy couch in the middle of the room and there were a few paintings on the walls. The books looked and smelt old. Like they had a long eventful history and beautiful stories to share. It was almost as though could hear them calling my name. I loved to read.

"Lynn?" Jacob waved a hand in front of my face.

"Oh, yeah," I cleared my throat, "let's see what gran left me, I guess."

The first thing Jake noticed were the paintings. Both had gran's signature on them. I knew she was a good painter and I saw lots of her paintings but I'd never seen these.

One was a painting of what looked like a wolf but it was really large with the trees in the background and a large round moon in the dark sky.

"What is it?" I asked, noticeing the look on Jacob's face.

"Um, nothing. I just thought I saw that painting before somewhere. That's all," I didn't believe it. But then again, Jacob didn't have a reason to lie to me so I just nodded.

I looked along the bookshelves and recognized classics I'd read and books I hoped to read but didn't have the time. All of Jane Austen's works were there. The Harry Potter series was there, of course. Those are what I call good books. Gran read them to me when I was a little girl.

Furthur along the line of books I saw a black notebook with _Quileute Ledgends _written on the spine in my grandmothers messy script.

I jumped up trying to reach the top shelf book. Stupid shot genes. I put my foot on the edge of the second shelf from the bottom and tried to push myself up and reach the book. Instead, I managed to just touch the book before slipping and landing in Jacobs warm arms.

"Well," I said lamely, "I was close?"

He chuckled and then held me up while I plucked the book off the shelf.

"That looks interesting," he said, "can I see it for a moment?"

I passed him the book and he opened it at random and scanned the page.

"I know these stories," he said, sounding almost shocked for some reason, "they were passed down in the Quileute tribe. Quil's grandfather told them to us a while back."

"You sound surprised that she knows them," I said, almost asked.

"Oh, no, she lived in this are so she probably heard them," he shook his head and grinned. His eyes said differently. Why couldn't he just tell me what was going on.

"I'll have to read them later," I said smiling, I took the book from him and held it against my chest.

Jacob nodded and we continued looking.

"You know," I started, "I wish I'd gotten to know her better. My grandma I mean. I remember her well and I knew her pretty well but I wish I'd spent more time with her, you get what I'm saying?"

Jacob nodded, "Yeah, I get it, I think."

I laughed a little and pulled my gaze off him and looked back to the bookshelf. There was a series of notebooks, like the one I was currently holding, only there was no hand writing down the spine telling me what was in them.

I stared curiously for a few seconds before I reached up, as though expecting to be able to reach the top shelf this time. I sigh in frustration and Jacob laughed and reached up and took them down. We set them down on the coffee table in front of the couch and sat down.

"They seem to be diaries," I said, "They have dates written on the inside cover. Look for the earliest one."

"These can't all be hers can they?" Jacob asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this one is from 1912. That was more than 90 years ago wasn't it?"

"97 years," I said, "Well, let's start with the earliest one and go from there. Maybe they weren't all hers."

I opened one that was dated all the way back to 1902. My eyes widened when I saw my grandma's name on the bottom right corner.

"But...I don't think she was even born then..." I said, breathless.

Jacob sat closer to me and read the date, "You're right. That was more than a hundred years ago."

I closed the book and put it back down.

"That's re-"

I didn't get the chance to finish though. The phone rang. I excused myself and hurried up the stairs and grabbed the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey! Lynn, I'm sorry about earlier. Really I am. My parents had friends over and one of their kids slipped something into one of my drinks."

I recognized the voice as Marcus' and I froze for a second and stumbled over my words, trying to reply.

"Ye-Yeah...I uh, figured it was prob-probably something like that or, you know," I was scared to talk to him though. I had friends back in Vancouver who ever in relationships that turned out to be abusive. I didn't want my life to end up like that.

Thankfully, the universe was on my side that day and Jacob came and took the phone from my grasp then lightly pushed me into the other room and shut the door.

I heard his muffled voice talking angrily for a few minutes before it went quiet and he came back into the room.

"Forget about him," he said, putting and arm around me, "come on, let's go to Emily's."

"Okay," I said, "Just, just...don't tell her what happened. It's over now and she doesn't need to know."

"Fine."

Emily and Rebecca were cooking up a storm when we arrived.

"Oh hey Lynn," said Rebecca, "We're going to Seattle tomorrow. You're coming with us."

"Yeah," I said, "for sure." It would be a good way to get my mind off of things for a few hours.

"Okay, and we're all having dinner here the next day for New Year alright?" Emily said to both Jacob and I.

"Of course," I smiled and sat down at the table. A few minutes later Embry and Quil arrived with Claire sitting on Quils shoulders. Great, even the five year old was taller than me now.

Jarred, Paul and Sam came in soon after. Paul walked over to Rachel and pulled her into a kiss while Sam helped Emily with the plates and cutlery.

"Lynn?" said Paul, "can you and Jacob go out back and grab that box of beer?" He smirked a little and got a funny look in his eye.

"Sure," I said and followed Jacob out the door, through the snow to the back yard.

I shiver ran through my body. Jacob laughed and pulled me close.

"Why are you so warm?" I asked.

"Why do you ask?" he raised an eyebrow at me, "You're not complaining are you?"

"No," I shrugged. My face must have been bright red now because Jacob laughed.

"Come on," he said and picked up a box while I got the other. Why did Paul send me too? It's not like Jacob would have a problem getting this himself.

I still didn't know what was going on with these people or Jacob. Why wouldn't he tell me though? Maybe I wasn't important enough? It hurt to think that. I thought of him as someone very close and special to me. If he was lying, he had better have one hell of a good reason.

We brought the boxes back in and the guys grabbed a can of beer. Claries parents didn't come. They were in Port Angeles that day and they left Claire with Quil. He was like her big brother. I wish I had a big brother like that when I was growing up. Someone to watch out for me when mom's off shooting up.

I opened my own beer and took a swig out of it.

"Aren't you a little young to drink?" Emily asked me.

"Did you wait until you were nineteen to drink?"

"You're in the U.S, you've got to be twenty one," she said, "But yeah, point taken."

I laughed and helped Emily bring the food onto the table.

It always disappeared so fast around here. Emily and Sam probably spend a million dollars a day on food! How do they not get fat? Where does it all go? I wish I could eat that much without getting fat. I love to eat.

After dinner and a few drinks, Jacob was slightly tipsy. I decided that I should probably drive back to my place. Designated driver. That's me.

At my house, I helped him inside and made us both sandwiches then helped him downstairs, where he passed out on the couch and I could read granny's diary.

I sat down on the other end of the large couch. It was as though grandma knew we needed a large couch here so that both Jacob and I could fit. He was too tall.

I pulled the blanket up to my neck and opened the book on my lap.

_April 6__th__ 1902_

_It happened today. Stephen wasn't the first one though. Apparently it's hardest for the first one. Everyone else has help. Stephen had help, thankfully.  
It's wired, thinking of my little brother as one of them. I just got off the train an hour ago and am now sitting in the car on my way home to see everyone. I left everything the moment I heard to go home.  
I will be arriving soon so I must leave you, but I will write again soon. I promise._

_Rosanne Ash_

This made no sence. One of what? Did it have anything to do with the Quileute ledgends? I read one of the stories. About a beautiful lady who came to the town and killed everyone when the little boy started to complain about the smell.

Well, I guessed the only way to find out would be to turn the page.

_April 29__th__ 1902_

_I haven't written for a while because, well, it happened to me too. They don't think it's ever happened to a woman before. There was a story about it once but everyone thought that one was just rumoured.  
They are back too. The cold ones. We just recently made a treaty with them but, we still don't really trust them. They don't trust us too much either I don't think.  
As long as neither of us do anything stupid it should be fine though.  
I'm just wondering if I will ever get used to being like this. It feels so different being like this  
Being a Werewolf._

_Rosanne Ash_

I shut the book and stood up. Now I was confused. Wait a second, gran was a English major in university, this was probably a story she was working on. Werewolves do not exist. I mean, it would be cool if they did but, they don't.

Either way, I picked the book back up and sat down again.

_May 6__th__ 1902_

_It's not all that bad being a werewolf. Now that I've had a little time to get used to it, it almost feels natural. It's nice being able to eat more than a horse and not gain an ounce. It was especially nice that I didn't get cold anymore. It was always so warm for me. The first two or three days of May seemed to be freezing cold to everyone but us. I didn't even need to wear a jacket anymore.  
I have more new about this though. Stephen imprinted. It is supposed to be really rare and he was the only one that it's happened to in our pack. The person you imprint on is basically your soul mate. From the moment you lay eyes on them, they're all you see and you want nothing but to be with them forever.  
It must be nice. Having love like that._

_Rosanne Ash._

They were all like that. Talking about werewolves and these 'cold ones' and their nasty smell. I didn't get what was going on. They were definitely the same things as there were in the Quileute Legends note book.

Maybe I should ask Jake. He lives here so he might know something about these legends. I wasn't saying that I believe what was written in the Diary. For all I know, it could have been a book she was planning to write. That's probably exactly what it was.

"Lynn?" my head snapped up and I saw Jacob.

"Oh," I said, "how are you feeling?"

"Alright," he shrugged, "I don't think I was that drunk so it's not too bad. But my head hurts and I'm tired so I'll just stay here and sleep for a little while."

"No problem!" I said and I glanced at the clock on the wall, eight in the morning, "I'll, uh, make breakfast and then we can eat."

I turned to leave up the stairs but hesitated for a moment.

"Jacob?" I asked, swallowing the lump in my throat, "After breakfast there's something...important I'd like to ask you about."


	5. Chapter 5

"So what was it you wanted to ask?" asked Jacob, after we'd finished breakfast and put away all the dishes and were back downstairs.

I leaned against one of the bookshelves holding gran's diary. How was I supposed to say this? Hey Jake, do you believe in werewolves? Yeah, then he'll look at me like I'm insane and leave.

"Well, do you think it's possible," I wasn't sure how to ask this so instead I tossed him the diary, "Just, read that."

I stayed up, leaning against the book shelf with my arms crossed.

When Jacob was done up until the page I'd bookmarked, he closed the book and looked up at me.

"You're asking me if I think this is real?" he asked, walking over towards me and I nodded.

"I know it sounds crazy but I mean...you know," I shrugged my shoulders.

"Actually, I don't think it sounds that crazy," he told me, "I mean, all the Quileute ledgends involve werewolves, and most ledgends have at least a grain of truth don't they?"

"Oh, yeah I see what you mean," I said, then I realised something, "If they were real back then, do you think that means that they could still be real these days?"

"Maybe," a small smile played across his lips.

I nodded and Jacob actually looked nervous for a second, "Billy would probably want me home by now. I think I should probably go."

"Yeah, probably," I said. I didn't want him to leave though but I bit my lip and nodded.

"I'll come back later," he said, "Alright?"

I nodded again and realised how close he was standing and remembered that time we almost kissed and a blush colored my face.

We went upstairs and I opened the door.

"See you later," he grinned and walked out. I was about to shut the door when he stopped and turned around.

"Wait," he said, "there's something I need to tell you."

I raised my eyebrows at him, "Yeah?"

"The werewolves in the stories?" he said, "They do still exist."

"How would you know?" I asked.

"Because I'm one of them," he said.

My breath caught in my throat and I leaned against the door frame for support, "No-Not funny, Jacob."

"I'm serious," he sigh, "so are the guys. Sam, Paul, Quil, Jarred, Embry. All of them."

"I uh, think you should leave now," I gasped.

"What?" he asked, "Lynn, come on i-"

"No," I shook my head, "J-just go away. I don't want to talk to you anymore."

I slammed the door shut and walked into the living room. I forced myself to peek out the window. Jacob was gone. Then I sat on the couch and started crying.

Oh, God. I'm so pathetic! I'm crying over this? Yeah, he should have told me earlier but still, he was such a good friend to me. Emily knew I'm sure. I gussed that Sam must have imprinted on her. Judging by how he looks at her. But what about those scars on her face. Did she get them from a werewolf? Shit. I didn't want to think about that right now. I went to the cupboard in the kitchen and looked through the back. That's where grandpa and grandma kept all the alcohol. I was right. The bottles were still there. I pulled one out, popped it open then got ice cream from the freezer.

When in doubt get drunk. That's what they say right? I sigh and dropped down onto the couch. What was I supposed to do now? Maybe I could call Emily tomorrow and ask for an explanation or something.

The doorbell rang.

If that was Jacob, I was going to shoot myself. It wasn't Jacob though. It was Rebecca.

"Hey, come on! We're going to Seattle today! Remember?" she said.

"Oh, uh, I'm not sure-"

"Oh, come on!" she said. I sigh and agreed. I grabbed my purse and shoes and jacket and made my way to the car. Kim and Rachel were inside the car. I sat in the back next to Kim. Maybe I could ask them. No doubt they all knew about it already.

"Have you seen Jacob by the way? He wasn't home last night," said Rachel.

I tensed for a minute before saying, "Yeah, I stole him away for a while. He left this morning though. Just before you got here actually."

They must have figured out by the tone of my voice that I didn't want to talk about Jacob right then.

Rebecca drove to Seattle. She and Rachel bickered about which music to listen to most of the way. That's what most sisters did though isn't it? I wondered briefly if any of them were werewolves too. Grandma said that there usually weren't female werewolves but it happened to her, why couldn't it happen to anyone else as well?

The first thing we did at Seattle was go to the wal-mart to develop the pictures.

"Here Lynn," Rebecca said, "I know you wanted me to give you this one."

It was the one of Jacob and I. His arms were wrapped around my waist, my back against his chest and I was looking back at him over my shoulder. We were both laughing and we looked so happy. Even with the Fat Santa hat on my head, he was more than a foot taller than me.

I forced a smile and thanked her for the picture. I put it on the inside pocket of my jacket. We went to the nearest mall. Clearence racks were exploding with clothes and shoes.

Shopping wasn't like therapy for me when I was in a bad mood. Usually I would go read a book but, I have to admit, this was pretty fun.

I bought new converse. Now I had four pairs of converse high tops. I had black ones, red ones, green ones and now purple ones as well.

At lunch we were sitting at A&W eating that horrible stuff they try to pass for food there when Rachel's cell rang.

"Hey." Her smile slipped off her face, "Oh, I see. Yeah, alright then. Bye."

She snapped her cell shut and put it back into her purse.

"So you know then?" she said looking straight at me. Kim and Rebecca looked at her funny for a second before realising what she meant.

I nodded, "He told me today."

"I'm guessing you didn't take it too well," said Kim.

"Well, if he'd told me earlier or-or I don't know!" I groaned.

"I can't blame you, I had a shit-fit when I found out, but I mean, come on Lynn," said Kim, "are you really going to lose him over this?"

"I don't know if i can talk to him just yet," I sigh.

We stayed for a few more hours. Kim and I went to get our hair done. I liked her. She was the kind of person I could have a great conversation with about nothing. I cut a few inches off mine. I liked it above my shoulders not below. I liked short hair. My roots were starting to grow again so I asked them to color my roots with the same dark red that colored the rest of my hair.

Rachel drove home after dinner. Rachel parked the car in the garage and I left as soon as possible hoping to avoid Jacob. Turns out I didn't have to. He wasn't there anyways.

I left my stuff at home then went to Emily's.

"Lynn!" She hugged me tightly, "Sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't. I'm so sorry."

I hugged her back and shook my head, "No, don't worry about it Em."

I didn't really even bother touching my food that night. Everyone's plates were filled with the delicious smelling food. I only had a spoonful of mashed potatoes and I didn't even touch that.

Paul gave me a ride home.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"You just did," I smirk, "but ask another."

"Why does what Jake said bother you so much. I mean, it doesn't seem to bother you to much that we're werewolves, but with him..." he trailed off.

"I don't know," I shook my head, "I'm going to talk to him tomorrow. I was just surprised is all. Plus, I've never known anyone who was a werewolf before, so it's new to me."

Why did it bother me so much though?

"Well, talk to him tomorrow then," said Paul, "I mean, you like him don't you? Don't throw it away over something like this."

"You make it sound like it's no big deal," I say, picking at my nails.

"You make it sound like it is a big deal," he shot back.

"Point taken."

He dropped me off and reminded me that I needed to be at Emily's tomorrow for new years.

* * *

Alright, so my beta reader for the last few chapters was TwilightHeart21. Thanks so much to her and I'm sorry I forgot to mention her in the last chapter as I was in a hurry to update. I'll try and update about once every week at least. Thanks for the reviews and favourites and story alerts. I love you guys!

Michelle.


	6. Chapter 6

At home, I threw off my jacket and went downstairs.

I picked up all my grandmothers notebooks and journals and set them on the table in a neat pile.

Paul was right. I was blowing this thing way out of proportion. I would talk to Jake tomorrow and we would sort this whole thing out and it would work out fine in the end.

I sat down and sigh, I couldn't believe that this year was coming to an end so fast. It all happened so quickly. It was almost all just a big blur. The day my grandmother died and I got a call from the lawyer. Then, just a week later, deciding to get out of there and move here, to my grandmothers old house. I thought it would take me away from all the hell. I liked a little excitement in life, not hell. Well, actually I'd rather have a calm quiet life but excitement seems to like me a little too much. Either that or I just seriously pissed off some God in a past life and am now being put through hell for it.

I brought my laptop downstairs and opened it on my lap. I sat there wasting time. I didn't want to go to bed. I opened google.

If the werewolves existed, that must mean that the 'cold ones' or vampires, as I figured, existed as well. There was a mention of them 'being back' in one of grandma's more recent entries. I should ask Jake tomorrow. I was so excited to see him again but at the same time, I was nervous about what I was supposed to say.

My stomach growled. This is what I get for not eating at Emily's. I went upstairs to get food. I opened the freezer and threw two cinnamon waffles into the toaster.

Breakfast for dinner. Not much is better than that.

I went to bed right after dinner. Earlier that day, I'd opened the window. It was so cold now and it just made me miss Jacob more. He was so warm. Though I knew now that it was because of him being a werewolf and not a fever or sickness, thankfully.

I didn't sleep too well. I jumped out of bed a good half hour before the alarm clock went off and into the shower. It took me forever trying to decide what to wear. It was weird, I was not usually one to spend time on finding something to wear. I usually just throw on whatever I pick up off my bedroom floor.

I thought for a moment about going to Emily's place earlier but what if Jacob would be there? I was going to be immature and put talking to him off for as long as possible. I knew I'd have to talk to him tonight but I could always do it later tonight. I didn't leave until five thirty. It took longer because I was walking all the way over there. I hated not being able to ride my bike through the snow.

When I arrived at Emily and Sam's, everyone was already there. Everyone was is the kitchen. Including Jacob. I sat between him and Rachel.

"I want to talk to you after dinner," I muttered to him quietly, hoping no one would notice. He nodded.

I couldn't help but notice that he couldn't keep his grin off his face all the way through dinner. It made me happy, seeing him happy. It was that funny, warm, bubble feeling. The really annoying yet at the same time really nice one.

Dinner passed by quickly and I started helping Emily with the dishes but she stopped me and gave me a dead serious look.

"Alright," I sigh, "I'm going..."

I asked Jacob to come outside with me.

"I'm sorry," I told him, staring at my feet, "I made a big deal out of it and it was just stupid of me."

"I can't blame you," he said, smiling, "I would have been pretty angry if you'd kept something like that from me. You aren't though are you? You're not secretly a vampire are you?"

I knew he meant it as a joke, but I couldn't help but frown.

"I'm kidding!" He grinned sheepishly, "Besides, vamps smell really bad. You don't."

He was standing so close to me. I was leaning against a wall and he was standing in front of me. Only inches away. Seconds later, his lips found mine. They were just as warm as the rest of him.

A wolf whistle and then clapping was heard. We broke apart and looked over next to us, where faces were looking out the living room window at us and laughing. I flipped them the finger before going back inside. Jacob and I sat together on the couch and he had am arm around me. It was so much warmer with him around.

Emily stood up and walked over to Jake.

"You know that if you hurt her I am going to kill you right?" she said, looking serious.

"No," I said before Jake got the chance to speak, "He hurts me, then I am going to do much worse than kill him."

Jacob just looked from me to Emily then started to laugh nervously. Emily grinned proudly at me.

When it was ten seconds until the New Year, everyone started counting down the seconds.

_Ten! Nine!_

Jacob put his arm around my waist and pulled me towards him.

_Five! Four!_

I looked up at him and smiled.

_Two! One!_

He kissed me again then whispered into my ear, "Happy New year, Love."

I swear I could feel my heart melt.

"Yeah," I said back, "Happy New year."

"Rachel Black," Paul, to everyone's shock got down on one knee and pulled out a small black box, "Marry me?" He opened the box, revealing a beautiful silver band.

Rachel's eyes went wide and her almost dropped her wine glass then her face broke out into a smile, "Yes!"

"Hold on a second," Jacob said to me then walked over to Paul, who was placing the ring on Rachel's slim finger.

Jacob put his hand firmly on Paul's shoulder and said, "You had better take good care of my sister, you got that Paul?"

Paul laughed nervously and nodded, putting his arm around Rachel's shoulders as she glared at her brother.

We stayed at Emily's for another two hours before Jacob decided he should take me home.

The whole ride home, I couldn't keep the smile off my face. I think it was going to be stuck there forever. He stopped in the driveway and walked me to the door.

"See you tomorrow?" he said.

"You want to come in?" I asked, I didn't want him to leave just yet.

"Sure," he said and we went inside.

We ended up watching Friday the 13th. I know it's supposed to be a horror movie but both Jacob and I laughed throughout most of it.

There was one scene when one of the girls was being murdered when a thought struck me.

"Emily's scars?" I asked, "She got them from a werewolf didn't she?"

"Yeah," Jacob tensed, "It was Sam. Sometimes anger can force us to change. He lost control for not even a second and Emily was just standing a little too close."

"But she forgave him?" I asked.

"Of course," said Jacob, "She is his imprint. When people love each other that much then hardly anything can get between them."

I just nodded, unsure of what to say.

"I will never hurt you," Jacob said, "I promise you."

"I know," I smiled. He couldn't hurt me. I always felt so safe with him.

"One more question," I said.

"Only one?" Jacob laughed. I could feel the laugh vibrate through his chest and I decided to ignore his comment.

"That means that the vampires exist too right?" I asked, "I read a few things about them in my grandmother's later diaries."

"Well, yes," he said, "Did you read all the diaries?"

I shook my head, "Just a few entries here and there," I cleared my throat, "I read about the Cullens too. They were here before and they came back a few years ago didn't they?"

Jacob nodded, "How much did your grandma know?"

I shrugged, "She knew about them and all their special abilities. She knew about Bella too. Bella`s the one that left you for Edward isn`t she?"

Jacob nodded silently.

"Okay," I shrug, "Just asking."

Jacob seemed to relax.

The movie ended and Jacob prepared to leave.

"Good night," I said. He bent down and kissed me goodnight.

He turned and opened the door.

"Hey Jake," a calm voice came from outside.

"Nessie?" Jacob looked shocked, "Bella, Edward?"

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, Nessie...that name was in my grandma's diary, was this the same girl? Whoever she was, I didn't like the way she was looking at Jacob. There were two more people behind here. All three of them shared the same smooth pale skin and dark eyes. Vampires. Biting my lip I remembered where I knew them from, my grandmother's diaries. This wasn't going to end well, wasn't it?

"I'm his imprint," her beautiful pale features spread into a mockingly sweet smile.

* * *

Alright, so my beta seems to have disappeared. That leaves me more or less on my own. I'll still be updating regularly though. Please drop off a review on your way out, I would love to know what you guys think. So I know whether or not I'm doing well, what I need to fix, what I'm doing well. I would appreciate it a lot.

Thanks,

Michelle.


	7. Chapter 7

Of course something had to go wrong. I knew it was way too damn good to be real.

I could swear my heart stopped right then. No, it didn't stop, instead it was ripped out of my chest, thrown on the ground and walked all over. I'm pretty sure that it would have been much less painful if it had just stopped.

God, I wanted to hurt this girl. Not that I would stand a chance against a vampire. Half sparkly vampire, thing.

The look on Edwards face was filled with surprise and curiosity. Yes Edward I know all about you guys and your special mind reading powers and all that fun stuff.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Obviously," I said flatly. It was bad enough that he knew how I felt. No need for everyone else to know too. Now was not the time to discuss this.

"In any case," I said turning to Jacob, "I guess you should go fuck your girlfriend now. Bye."

"Lynn I-" he started but I cut him off sharply.

"Nah don't worry, I've had...worse happen to me before," I shrugged. I know being good at lying was not something you were supposed to be proud of, but I couldn't help it. This was the most painful thing I'd ever done. It took everything that I had not to go run off a cliff and kill myself. But I wasn't that stupid. It would hurt like a bitch, but I'd get over him.

"It won't be easy," Edward said.

I shot him a glare. Get the fuck out of my head. I never said it would be easy.

Bella just stood there looking from me to Edward, no doubt wondering what was going on in our silent conversation. Nessie was smirking at Jacob and Jacob still looked slightly shocked.

"Bye guys," I smiled sweetly and slammed the door shut on them. I heard Jacob bang on the door and I was sure he was going to break it down.

I grabbed my jacket and shoes and went through to the back door and slipped out silently. I could have sworn I heard a dog growling. I ignored it and kept walking. I was sure Emily would let me stay at her place for tonight.

Jacob will eventually realise I'm not there or think I'm ignoring him then leave.

How could he not tell me about this? What was I? Just someone for him to kill time with until Nessie came back? God, I was so stupid.

I didn't get to Emily's until at least six in the morning. I used the key she gave me. 'Just in case of emergencies' she had said.

I let myself in and hung my wet jacket on the coat rack and kicked off my shoes and put them by the heater. Then I went and made myself comfortable on the living room couch. I must have fallen asleep there but, it didn't last long.

"Lynn?" I recognized the voice and pulled my eyes open. It was Sam.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"What are you doing here? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just needed somewhere to stay the night," I shrugged.

"You can call Ja-"

"No," I cut him off sharply, "And if asks, tell him to go fuck himself sideways and that if ever talks to me again that I will fucking kill him."

Sam sighs, "Alright. I'll tell him. Though I'm sure whatever it is, that you two will get over it."

I didn't answer.

"Okay, well, I've got to go. See you later," then he walked out into the hall and I heard the door slam shut a few seconds later.

I just lost Jake. Serious, sarcastic, laid-back Jake. I must have been such a mess at that point. Always so impatient. It hurt to think about him. After rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and making a huge mess, I finally managed to lay my hands on a bottle of extra strength Advil. I swallowed two with some water then slipped the bottle into my back pocket. I would forget about Jacob Black and move on. Edward was right. It was going to be hell. But, I'll manage. A guy breaks your heart; it's not the end of the world. He was too old for me anyways. He was nineteen and I was just about to turn seventeen at the end of January.

Okay so maybe three years wasn't that much of a difference.

When Emily got up and saw me she asked me what's wrong and I just shook my head.

"Okay fine," she said, "We'll talk about it later."

Stubborn.

It was still cold but the snow was mostly gone and today was one of those rare, rain free days in La Push so, dressed in sweats and runners, I went down to first beach for a jog.

It was nice. I used to jog lots. At my old school I would go to track and field school competitions every year. I almost always placed in long jump and the eight hundred meter.

The other great thing about jogging? With my headphones glued to my ears and the cold air hitting my skin, running took my mind off Jacob. It had only been two weeks and already I was getting over it. But with running and school starting again, I didn't have time to worry about Jacob. It wasn't gone though, the pain. It was still there, just not as often, but it was still very sharp and hurt so much. I started getting headaches. I would be half-way through a class when it started to feel as though, someone threw a brick at my head.

I got to Emily's right after school and swallowed an Advil. Advil did wonders for headaches and this one was no exception. I sat on the couch and tried distracting myself with an episode of two and a half men.

It worked. The pain in my head went down to a dull pounding in the back of my head. Everything was going fine until the front door slammed open and Seth and Quil ran in.

"Lynn!" Quil said, eyes wide, "You're house is on fire."

At first his words didn't register and I just sat there with that stupid look on my face. My house was on fire? Seth dragged me from the couch and into Quil's car. Is it just me or do all werewolves drive like maniacs?

They were right. Thick clouds of black smoke were floating up from my house. The one where all my stuff was. Everything.

There was a large red fire truck parked outside my house. I didn't see anything they were doing though. All I saw was my house burning.

My grandmother's diaries. Now I would never have a chance to finish them. A fireman I thought I recognized sat me down and got asked me some questions. I don't know what he was asking. It was all but impossible for me to see straight at the time and I couldn't see what was going on or happening. I remember going back to Emily's and Sam telling me that I was going to stay with them now. The worst part was when I was told that the fire probably wasn't started by a stove that I forgot to turn off or a candle but that it was most likely, arson.

When everyone was asleep, I got dressed quickly and quietly slipped out of the guest bedroom and went downstairs trying to dodge all the creaky spots. I started Emily and Sam's car and drove out of the driveway. After a twenty minute ride and almost missing the turn I was supposed to take for the second time, I came to the front door of the large white mansion. Before I got the chance to knock Edward was at the door.

"Come on," he said, "let's go for a walk."

Why? I asked silently, it's not like they were going to hear me.

Edward just shook his head and kept walking through the forest. I focused on counting in French. That way, he wouldn't dig to deep into my head.

"Are you sure it was him?" he asked.

Was this guy stupid or something? Did he really think I would be asking his help if I was certain? I knew he heard what I thought but he was nice enough to let me talk anyways.

"No," I shook my head, "That's why I'm asking you to help me find out."

"I'll help you," he said with a graceful shrug. What was this guy? A fairy prince? Vampires are way to perfect for my taste. I mean come on, real men don't sparkle.

"Don't mind my thoughts," I said, "I haven't been in the best state of mind lately."

He chuckled a little and shook his head, "Yeah, no problem."

"Thanks," I forced a smile. Though I was sure it turned out as more of a grimace.

I drove back to Emily's and snuck in just as quietly as I'd snuck out; I snuck back into the house and then back to my bed. Sleep caught up with me quickly but didn't stay long. Not even three hours later I woke up with another headache. I rolled out of bed and made my way downstairs for a glass of water to swallow my Advil with. I tripped countless times over the stairs but managed not to fall by holding onto the railing like it was my lifeline.

I couldn't make myself go back to sleep so I forced myself to go get dressed and ready for school. I walked down to the school and made my way to my first class of the day. Lots of people were coming up to me and saying they're sorry about my house or asking me what happened. I just shrugged. I wasn't sure what happened so I couldn't really tell them.

My day managed to go pretty headache free and I managed to keep my mind off of Jacob and my house and just focus on school. I felt like a Zombie.

After school I started walking home the same way I always did, when Edwards car pulled up beside me. He unlocked the door and I got into the passenger seat.

"You were right," Edward said, "It was him that did it."

Of course I was right. The problem was going to be to prove it. To prove that it was him. How the hell was I going to do that?

"I have no idea," Edward shrugged and drove me to Emily's.

He stopped the car, still on his side of their invisible line. He still wasn't trusted on our side of the line. I watched as he drove off then kept walking down the gray road. Walking by the burnt down house, I stopped for a minute and looked at it. The creamy white walls now had webs of black all over them and the roof looked lopsided. Like someone picked it up and turned it around, putting it back down on the wrong angle.

I was all wet by the time I got to Emily's but I ignored it and changed quickly then, with my IPod, went for a run.

It had to have been him. How can I prove it though? This was a very inconvenient little situation. Pushing myself to run faster, I was out of breath soon enough.

Back at Emily's, she asked me to drive down to the store and pick up a few groceries. She tossed me the keys and I promised to be back as soon as possible.

The radio in the car was on loud and I might have even sang along with a song or two. Not that I would ever admit it. I felt the front pocket of my jeans to make sure the list Emily gave me was still there. I don't have a cell so if I lost it I wouldn't be able to call her and ask what I need to pick up.

In the store I grabbed a basket on my way in and pulled the paper out of my pocket. Cooking may not have been my favourite thing to do, but I enjoyed grocery shopping. It sounds lame, I know that. I could never really figure out why it was so enjoyable. It just was.

At least, it was until I got to the cereal. In grocery stores, I could always reach the top shelf. But, when something on the top shelf was pushed all the way to the back of the shelf, where I couldn't reach, that really frustrated me.

I looked around at the other cereal but the only two boxes of honey nut cheerios were on the one spot that I couldn't reach. Not wanting to ask for help I figured that I could live a little longer without them. I turned away from the shelf and walked right into something hard then fell on my butt.

With a sigh, I pulled myself up and picked up my shopping basket.

"Sorry."

I froze at the voice and frowned. Looking up, I saw Jacob Black.

"Lynn will you please-"

No way was I going to give him time to finish his sentence. I pushed past him and went to the check out and ran out of the store. After throwing the groceries in the back of the car I sat quietly in the front seat, staring out the window at nothing in particular.

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and jam the keys into the right spot. After a minute of this I gave up and slammed the keys onto the dash board and cried. I couldn't remember the last time I had cried that much. I thought that I was getting over him. So why the hell am I crying over him?

When I was calm enough to drive, I drove back to Emily's.

I was sitting in the living room with my laptop, one of the few things that were with me and not in the house on the night of the fire.

"You are really starting to get on my nerves, kid." Paul said after lunch one day.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not looking up from my laptop.

"I mean, when we're in wolf form, we can see into each other's minds. Everything and anything," he told me, "and it is annoying as hell being in Jakes mind right now."

I raised an eyebrow at him. What was he saying? I didn't know that they could do that.

"I mean sure, we all had to deal with each other's thoughts," he shrugged, "But really, it's driving us insane how much he thinks about you."

I shut my laptop and stood up, "Fuck off Paul," I said, tired. I really couldn't be bothered with this right now. Why wouldn't it all just go away?

I got to the stairs and realised he was blocking my way, "Do me a favour and move please," I frowned.

"Lynn," he started.

"I said, fuck off," I ducked around him and continued upstairs and into my room. I heard Sam talking to Paul about it later. He told them all to leave me alone for a while. I hated being like this. I was never one for drama. Too bad I'm a dramatic person. Working on that would probably be a good idea.

I changed into my pyjamas and rolled into bed. Despite not having a great day, I slept great. The world could have exploded and I wouldn't have woken up.

I woke up feeling great the next morning. After realising that it was really early and probably no one else was up, I decided to go for a run. Breakfast would wait until I got back.

Even with any thoughts of Jacob pushed aside; there was still that problem of how to prove it was him that burned my house down. He was an idiot, but he was careful enough. Police would need proof. Proof that either didn't exist or was burned down in the fire.

Trying to pry a confession from him would be pointless. That kid was going to keep his mouth shut about this.

This was frustrating. There has to be something that could be done.

Back at Emily's, some of the guys, including Jake, were over watching TV. Emily was upstairs on the phone. She was probably talking to the insurance company about my grandmother's house. Seeing what could be done about all the damage.

I grabbed a towel from the closet and went to the bathroom for a shower. I stood in the shower until the water turned cold and even then I didn't want to get out right away.

Out of the shower I wrapped a towel around myself and dragged a brush through my hair. I began blow drying my hair when my head started to hurt. I finished quickly and got dressed. Downstairs, I went straight to the kitchen, looking to take another Advil before bed.

"Looking for these?"

I whipped around, making the dull pain in my head jolt. Jacob stood leaning against the table, holding up my Advils.

"Hm," I say casually, "So that's where they were."

"Yep," He nodded, "If you'd do me the favour of listening to me, after hearing my explanation then take as many as you want."

"You know, I'm suddenly feeling better. I guess I don't need them."

I turned to leave but the ache in my head grew until I could hardly see from the pain and I felt my knees hit the ground just before everything went black.

* * *

**This chapter was a bit longer than the last few I think. I'm not completely satisfied with it but I'd say it turned out alright. Thank you all so much for the reviews and favs and everything. So good to know people are actually interested and what I write.**

**I'll have the next chapter up within a week or so. I hope. Life doesn't generally agree with me though so we'll see what happens.**

**Do me a quick favour and drop off a review on your way out?**

**Michelle**


	8. Chapter 8

It was bright. Too bright. I couldn't see anything. I tried to roll over but found my body too heavy to move an inch so I glued my eyes shut.

"You slept through breakfast and lunch and dinner yesterday. I figured you'd be hungry so I brought you some food."

Jacob's voice brought a frown to my face. The growling from my stomach wasn't helping.

I forced my eyes open. The room wasn't too bright anymore. Jacob must have closed the curtains. Sitting up hurt my head and I leaned against the headboard. The warm and sweet smell of pancakes filled my nose and I felt my stomach growl.

"Here," Jacob, who was sitting next to my bed, put a tray onto my lap. Pancakes pilled high topped off with butter and syrup.

I muttered quick thanks and started eating. The first few bites were the best. It took every inch of my will power to not shovel the pancakes down my throat. I couldn't remember the last time pancakes had tasted so good. I couldn't remember the last time anything had tasted so good. I finished eating and put the tray on the bedside table then rolled back under the covers.

"You can't ignore me forever."

Damn. I was hoping he'd go away. Go back to fucking Nessie. I don't want him. I don't want him. I DON'T want him.

Okay maybe a little. By a little I mean a lot.

But that's not going to happen. Because Jacob belongs to Nessie. So instead, I'm just going to lie in bed here for God knows how long before getting up, drinking myself into obliviation and then maybe I'll stop being so pathetic.

I closed my eyes and rolled over so I'd be facing away from Jacob and continued ignoring him.

"Fine you can pretend that you're not listening while I explain then." He started.

"No!" I bolted up and glared at him, "I don't want to listen to you. I want you to leave me the fuck alone."

I threw the covers off me and stomped out of the room, slamming the door shut behind me. I got to the bottom of the stairs when Jacob came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my wait.

"Let me go."

"No. And calling for help won't do much it's just us so you might as well listen to me," he frowned a little, getting annoyed. I tried to pull away but he just held on more tightly.

"Fine," I gave up. Maybe after his little 'explanation' I can leave and go find that vodka I know Emily's got somewhere. "Just let me go."

He took his arm off my waist and I stepped into the living room where I dropped into an armchair. Jacob stepped into the living room and stood right in front of my chair.

"Nessie isn't my imprint-"

"Really?" I said, "Because I heard something slightly different."

"Anymore," Jacob finished, "She's not my imprint anymore."

"I don't think it works that way," I frown. He's joking right?

"Yeah," He shrugged, "Well, technically speaking she is but being imprinted on someone doesn't mean you have to marry them. It means you need to be there for them. She's like my sister so I will be there for her but I don't love her."

I frowned, not believing him. He would've told me this earlier if it was true. He's joking or something. This is a cruel joke. It had to be.

"I'm dead serious," he said, seeing the look on my face.

I sprang up from the couch and slapped him. Though it probably hurt me a lot more then it hurt him.

"And you didn't think of telling me this why?" I practically screamed at him. Without realising it I was crying. Jacob's arms were around me in a second and I slammed my fists against his chest.

"Why the fucking hell did you not tell me earlier?" I sobbed, "I swear Jacob Black I will fucking kill you for this!"

"I didn't tell you right away and I'm sorry," he said, "I was scared at first then you didn't want to listen and I thought I'd wait until you clammed down a little. I should have told you sooner, I know."

"What about Nessie?"

"I talked to her. She had one hell of a shit fit. I love her like a sister but she used to always get what she wants so it was wired for her to not get what she wanted this time around," Jacob sigh, "but I love you so forget about her now alright?"

I nodded and buried my face in his tee-shirt.

There it was again. That nice warm feeling. Jacob Black, boyfriend and space heater. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. Though, of course I'd be glad with just Jacob. Although heaters are important.

Everyone seemed pretty relieved when they came home to see the both of us alive, in one piece and together. I felt slightly stupid for being so dramatic about the whole thing.

Sam was on the phone with the insurance company in the kitchen. He looked less stressed than last time so it must be working out.

As for how to prove who caused it, I was still stuck on that. I pushed it to the back of my mind. That wasn't something I should be worrying over right now.

I have Jacob back and that's all that really matters right now. Though I should work on getting my grades up, they have been terrible this past little while. My skipping an extra class here and there may have had something to do with it. I blame the headaches.

Emily was just setting the table and I sat with Jacob and Kyle watching TV when Sam hung up.

"Well Lynn," He shook his head and my heard sank, "what can I say?"

I let out a frustrated breath and frowned.

"You're grandmother was prepared for everything!" Sam laughed, "Insurance will cover every last bit of the damage ten times over. We had a bit of a mix up with the insurance company but a friend of your grandmother's managed to clear all of that up. She talked to him before she died, they were prepared for anything."

My eyes widened at the shock. My grandmother, as far as I knew, didn't come from a rich family or have much money to her name. Though I called her lawyer first thing after dinner and he explained that although he didn't know much about the money he knew the house was well-insured and she left me a nice little bundle that I'd get once I turned eighteen. He said she donated lots of her money to charities before she had died.

I grinned, thanked him and hung up the phone. Grandma was always a little different. Turns out she's a little more different than I'd originally thought. I figured that she was a hippie in the 70's who led a very exciting and odd life. Her being a werewolf wasn't really something I would have suspected. Ever.

I focused on school and trying to figure out how to prove that he burned down my house. Jake still doesn't know. He'd probably tear the poor kid apart. Although he does deserve it.

My Birthday was nearing. Things were starting to get good again. House was insured, I have Jacob and I was turning seventeen soon. I even managed to get my grades up. If I was going to go to university I was going to try for a scholarship and for that, I need amazing grades. My lunch hours were, for the most part, spent in the library pouring over books. When I wasn't studying I was either with Jake or I was reading. This was probably my 10th time going through the Harry Potter books. I was starting to consider seriously majoring in English literature or creative writing in university. Of course, I'd go to the closest one around and make sure to stay close to everyone.

Jake picked me up from school, his rabbit already parked out front when the last bell rang. I dropped down on the passenger seat.

"Hello," I grinned and shut the car door.

"Hey," he grinned back.

Billy was at Charlie Swans. Apparently there was some really important game going on TV and they would die if they missed even a second of it.

We decided today would be a good day to go to Port Angeles and catch a movie. We watched that new vampire movie, 'Day breakers'.

We were the only people laughing throughout the movie. I enjoyed it. I always enjoy movies. I know Jake loves them too. Especially those bloody ones. I could never be with a guy that doesn't like bloody movies. The movie had already been out for a while. We were two of the only seven people in the theatre.

He took me to dinner afterwards. We sat in the cozy restaurant. It was fairly empty; only five or six tables besides ours were occupied.

After a deciding and arguing over what to get, we placed our orders.

"Have any plans for your birthday?" Jacob asked, grinning.

"Well, yes actually, I plan on turning seventeen that day."

"Really?" He widened his eyes in mock surprise, "I never would have guessed."

"Well, think I'm going to take a day off of school," I shrugged, "eat cake, I guess."

"Good plan," Jake nodded, "Though I may steal some of your cake."

"You know, you never told me when your birthday was."

"Actually," Jacob said, "I'm turned 20 last week. January 14th."

"Shit," I said, "No, wait, double shit. Not only did I miss your birthday but I was pissed at you that weekend."

"No worries," he shrugged, "You can always make it up to me later."

He winked at me. I must have been blushing a bit too much because Jake laughed.

The waitress returned with our food and placed it in front of us before hurrying off again. The restaurant seemed to be more crowded now than it was when we first got here.

This was some of the most delicious Greek food I had ever tasted. It was just fantastic. Even if it did burn my tongue a little.

"What did you usually do on your birthday?" Jacob asked me curiously.

"Party hard," I shook my head at the memories, "a girl I used to hang out with and I used to go out often. Birthdays were no exception. It was fun but after a while, partying starts getting annoying."

"Too much excitement for you?"

"No, a little excitement is good but I really needed a change of scenery," I explained, trying to avoid too many questions. I knew I could trust Jacob; I just wasn't sure how he would react. I decided now would be a good time to change the topic.

"What about you?" I asked.

"What about me?"

"What do you usually do on your birthday? Any embarrassing birthday traditions?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"If it was embarrassing I don't think I'd tell you. Actually," he added after a pause, "depends on who it was embarrassing for. Birthdays aren't generally a huge deal. You say 'Happy Birthday' possibly get a present and then go on with life."

"Gee that sounds fun," I roll my eyes.

"Well Birthdays aren't the big holiday here, around here that's Christmas."

"Oh yeah," I laughed, "I noticed."

"Enjoyed last Christmas here? Plan on staying?" He asked.

"Most definitely," I nodded, "Some things I'll have to sort out with my mom obviously. I'm sure Emily will let me stay with her for a while, my mom will be glad to be rid of me but even if she doesn't want to, I'm turning eighteen next year and I'm free to come and go as I please."

"You never told me much about your mom," Jacob said.

"You never told me much about yours either," I said, trying to change the subject again.

"She died when I was a kid," Jacob frowned, "car crash. It was pretty bad. They took her to the hospital; she was in surgery for a few hours. They said she got through it fine, after she got out she died the next day. Some severe, unexpected complications."

"That must have been terrible," I frowned and reached across the table and put my hand over his, "it's too bad."

"Yeah," he sigh, "I think you two would have gotten along really well. I wish you could have met her."

He stopped for a second and laughed.

"What?" I asked.

"You're the only girl I've ever thought about introducing to my mother," Jacob smiled and I felt one stretch across my own lips.

"Good to know."

"What about your family?" he asked me.

"What about them?" Crap.

"Tell me about them."

"Not much to tell," I shook my head, "I never met my dad, probably one of my mom's one night stands. My mom, she liked drugs more than me. She did everything she possibly could to get her hands on them. We never did get along. I was pretty much on my own, did what I could to get away from her. We got so sick of that when we saw the opportunity, I moved down here."

"I'm sorry to hear that," a frown replaced his smile.

"It's not your fault and it's over it doesn't matter anymore, I'm not there anymore."

"Okay, I'm too sure how things work with you Canadiens, but isn't there like, a social worker that takes kids away from parents like that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and I couldn't help but snort.

"Well, when I was a little kid she was pretty clean. The occasional drinking but she'd quit her drug addiction and we were happy so there wasn't really much of a reason for me to be taken away but when I started high school, 8th grade in Canada, she started up drugs again soon after."

"Well," Jacob said, "Shit happens. That's what I tell myself when things go wrong. Shit happens. It happens all the time, you'll move on. You'll live through it."

"Shit happens," I repeated to myself and broke out laughing. Jacob joined in laughing with me.

We left the restaurant soon after and Jacob drove back to his house where he made a call to Charlie Swan.

"He said he'd give Billy a ride back," Jacob said dropping onto the couch next to me. I moved my feet onto his lap and turned on the TV and grinned.

"Saturday Night Live is on," I laughed, "I love that show."

Megan Fox walked onto the stage and I tuned out. I've seen this one before and turned my attention to Jacob. I should tell him about it. It's not his problem but I'd feel better if I told him. Besides, that kid deserves hell for what he did. Jacob would probably kill him though. Contemplating the problem for a little longer, I finally managed to come to a decision.

"Jake?" I ask biting my lip.

"Yeah Lynn?" he saw the look on my face and a looked concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Well, a while ago, I was talking to Edward and- oh, don't look at me like that –I asked him for a favour, because I know he can do that whole mind reading thing, and..." I trailed off for a minute, "I think- no, I'm about one hundred percent sure I know who burned my house."

"Who was it?" Jacob pulled me closer.

"Marcus."

* * *

Yeah, I know, ten bucks says you saw that one coming. This was one of those chapter where although lots of the events don't actually do much for the plot, it still needed to be written anyways.

The restaurant scene, my friend pointed out, is similar to the one in Twilight. I swear that was unintended. I don't even remember half of what happened in Twilight I certainly didn't remember the restaurant scene.

Reviews are very much loved!

Michelle.


	9. Chapter 9

He was doing it again. It's been going on for while now. I hadn't thought much of it earlier; I was too busy with headaches and avoiding Jacob. It's creeping me out. There isn't even much I can really do about it. I mean, he's not doing anything. What was I supposed to do? Walk right up to him and say "Hey! Stop staring at me, it's really starting to scare me shitless."  
I'm sure that would end well. Convincing Jacob to not run off and kill him last night was hard enough and I'm sure all of Washington State heard us arguing over it. The best I could do now was probably sit and hope he doesn't do anything else. Or that maybe he'll slip up and do something very stupid.

I gave up on pretending I didn't notice Marcus staring and I met his eyes with my own. I kept my blank stare on him until he looked away and turned his attention to the blonde next to him. The moment the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat in the back row and headed straight for my locker. This was getting annoying. Very, very, annoying. Jacob and I told Sam about Marcus. He took it better than Jacob at least. I took in a deep breath and then slammed my locker shut, making the girl at the locker next to mine jump.

Avoiding Marcus wasn't too hard. We had fairly separate schedules with the exception of one class. In the hallways, I just kept my eyes off him and hoped he wouldn't notice me. Maybe I could just let it go. So what if he didn't get what he deserved? Maybe it wouldn't matter as long as he left me alone. If only.

Jacob picked me up from school, like usual. His clenched fists were shoved in his pockets and a frown was stuck on his face. With a sigh I got into his car. I was in the kitchen with Emily ten minutes later and Jacob was out cliff diving with the pack. As much as I would have loved to go, it's still a little too cold for me.

We took Kyle out for a walk on the beach. He was so full of energy today he just couldn't seem to sit still for even a second. He kept tripping over branches and getting a mouthful of sand and he seemed to really enjoy chasing seagulls although he seemed confused as to why they would always run away from him. The moment they landed somewhere else, he would run after them again.

Emily and I were sitting side by side on a thick log, watching Kyle.

"Lynn," Emily started seriously, "you know I worry about you right?"

"Mhmm?" I nodded along.

"Well," She shoved her hands into the pocket of her jacket, "you and Jacob have been together for a while now, and I know it's not really my business but I just hope that you two are staying safe."

"Emily," I groaned, "what the hell?"

"Watch your language around Kyle!" Emily snapped, "Like I said, it's not my business, I'm just saying, don't be one of those sixteen year olds that end up pregnant and have to drop out of high school to take care of their kids."

"First of, I'm turning seventeen tomorrow," I said, "and two, I haven't had sex with him, but I'll be sure that we're, uh, safe, you know, when we do."

Well, this was uncomfortable.

"Okay," Emily nodded. We walked quietly for a few more minutes before she opened her mouth again, "Just, please, stay safe. If you need condoms buy some please or there's a box in the drawer in my bedroom, just stay safe."

"Emily!"

"Oh shut up."

No you shut up. Not that I'd say that to Emily, I love her and I know she's just worried.

We let Kyle enjoy the beach for a while longer and decided to leave once the sun started to set. We threw together a quick dinner. We were just expecting Sam and Jacob. Everyone else had previous engagements.

Dinner was oddly uneventful. With only five people there it was calm and quiet, as opposed to the usual loud, energetic crowd. It was over quickly and Sam decided he'd help Emily with the dishes this time.

Billy and Charlie recruited a few more people to Charlie's house for the baseball game. Jacob and I decided to take advantage of that and get some time alone. Considering the amount of beers Billy was taking with him, we doubted anyone would be able to drive anywhere. It's so great having so many close friends but sometimes breathing space is nice too.

Weekends were my favourite days. Before, all the days would just blur together and I was unable to tell them apart. I would go through my day thinking it was Monday when it was actually Friday. Saturday and Sunday were just a blur, I didn't even notice them.

Now, I loved them.

Jacob and I got a pizza out of the freezer, threw it into the oven and put in a movie. Most comfortable place in the world was lying with Jacob on the couch, leaning back against his chest with his arms around me. It's as though I was made to fit there. Even after the movie ended I didn't want to leave. Too bad I'm absolutely hopeless at pretending to sleep.

"Lynn? Want me to give you a ride home?" Jacob asked, brushing his lips across my ear.

"Not really." I mumbled and turned over to face him.

He just laughed and wrapped his arms around me. He picked me up and walked to his room.

"Stay here then," he said simply. He pushed the door open and dropped me on the bed then turned to the closet and grabbed a shirt. It must have been old, the grey had faded and I don't think it would fit him as well as it used to.

"Smallest shirt I own," he shrugged and laughed. I grinned and pulled off my own shirt and threw it aside then picked up the one he gave me and put it on then stood up and took my pants off from underneath it. The faded grey hem nearly reached my knees and the sleeves reached down far beyond my own arms.

"What do you know? A perfect fit," I rolled my eyes and laughed at my lame joke.

"I think it's actually really sexy," He said with a smirk and pulled me over to him and kissed me.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," I smiled and wrapped my arms around his waist. I could have sworn my heart was going to burst out of my chest.

"You really are beautiful, you know," He whispered into my ear. I buried my face into his chest and tightened my hold on him.

"Come on, let's go to bed," I said and reluctantly let go of him and crawled under the covers, once he got into his pyjamas, he lay down next to me and pulled me closer to him. It took me a minute to realize he wasn't wearing a shirt. Not that I was complaining.

"You know about my past girlfriends, tell me about yours?"

The question surprised me. I took a breath and waited a moment before answering.

"Well, I've never actually had a girlfriend. As much as I like girls, I'm kind of straight."

"Hmm, really? You're straight? I never would have guessed," he said and kissed me, "Seriously though?"

"I don't know, I've never had all that much luck with guys. I mean, I've had a few boyfriends but I was never in a serious relationship. They were all either fun or just distractions. Nothing worth mentioning," I shrugged. I'd never really talked to anyone about my relationships. It just wasn't something that came up.

"Oh I see," Jacob nodded.

"I think I should sleep here more often," I murmured, burring "I just realised how much colder everything is without you."

"You can come here anytime," chucked Jacob.

"Say that and you just might not be able to get rid of me," I laughed lightly. He pressed his lips to mine and rolled over so I was under him. His hand slipped under my shirt and around my waist, burning every inch of skin touched. I put my hands on his shoulders and my legs around his waist.

My breath caught for a second and Jacob smiled against my lips.

"I don't want to get rid of you."

* * *

**Nope. Not gonna write in a lemon. **

**Man, I was having a really irritating writers block doing this chapter so I'm happy I finally got it out! Even if it is short. And definitely not my best. Thank you guys all so much for all the reviews and favourites and story alerts, I appreciate it so much. It just makes my day!**

**Want to maybe drop a review on your way out? I would really appreciate it!**

**Love, **

**Michelle **


	10. Chapter 10

I would have been able to sleep in Jacobs arms forever. That would have been nice. Too bad when I woke up, Jacob was in the shower and, except for me, the bed was empty. I heard the water running in the shower and put a pillow over my head to block out the sun leaking in through the curtains. Though I realised my attempts and going back to sleep where useless so I got out of back and pulled my clothes back on.

In the kitchen, I rummaged through the fridge and found a carton of eggs.

"Jake?" I called, "I'm making eggs for breakfast, how many do you want?"

"Four," I heard him call from the bathroom.

God, werewolves eat a lot. Why aren't they fat? Girls like to eat too. Why don't all of us have crazy fast metabolism?

I rolled my eyes and went about making breakfast. Jacob walked into the kitchen a few minutes later wearing a pair of pants, his hair still damp from his shower. He walked up behind me, wrapped an arm around my waist and placed a kiss on my head.

"Morning," I smiled.

"Morning," he grinned, "You seem very happy today."

"I am."

"Happy Birthday by the way," He said, "I have something for you, I'll be right back."

He disappeared into the hallway and showed up a few minutes later with a small white box with a blue bow and placed it on the counter in front of me.

I picked it up and took of the lid.

"I know, not a very original idea for a present," he said, "but it made me think of you."

Inside was a thin black chain and a silver charm, the shape of a tear drop hung on it. It had a very beautiful and complex design on it. A design that I assumed was a wolf.  
"It's really beautiful," I gasped, "Thank you, help me put it on?"

He grinned and took the necklace from my hands and I turned around and picked my hair up. Once it was on, I turned around and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

"I hope you didn't spend too much," I said, "It looks expensive."

"You deserve it," Jacob said, "if someone around here has a problem with their car they aren't going to drive it all the way to Port Angeles to get it fixed, it's not going to make me rich, but it pays for groceries and bills and such."

I finished making breakfast and Jake put a couple of plates on the table.

"Yum, how'd you know I like eggs?" Jake joked.

"Lucky guess?" I laughed a little.

"Last night," Jake started, "it wasn't your first time was it?"

I shook my head no, "Not yours either I'm guessing?"

"No it wasn't," he said.

I nodded. We finished breakfast in silence and Jacob put the dishes in the sink.

"Emily called earlier by the way," Jake said, "You need to be home tonight. Apparently she made you a birthday cake. And she makes really good birthday cakes."

"Earlier?" I asked, "What time is it now?"

"One o'clock," Jake shrugged.

"I slept till one?" I sigh, "you could have woken me up."

"Nah, I you didn't get much sleep last night so I figured I'd let you sleep some."

He kissed me again and laughed, "You should probably leave, Emily sounded like she thought I'd kidnapped you. Take my car."

"You trust me with your car?"

"Just go before I change my mind."

He pulled the keys out of his pocket and tossed them to me hesitantly. I threw him a grin as I caught the keys and grabbed my jacket and left.

It was still fairly icy on the roads and it had been a while since the last time I'd driven a car, I slid down to Emily's more than I drove there.

I let myself into the house and shrugged out of my jacket.

"Hi!" I called.

"Oh you're home!" It was Sam's voice.

"Hey!" That one was Emily.

I walked into the living room where Kyle was watching Buggs Bunny. Sam walked into the living room, shoes and jacket on.

"Going somewhere?" I asked.

"Yep. I'm working today. Happy Birthday by the way!" Sam patted me on the shoulder and continued out the door.

"Hey, Happy Birthday!" Emily pulled me into a hug.

"Birthday?" Kyle repeated, tumbling into the kitchen.

"Yes sweetie, it's Lynn's birthday. Come say happy birthday." Emily scooped him up of the ground and he turned his head towards me.

"Happy Birthday," he laughed.

"Thanks kid," I grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Can I have carrots?" He asked, pointing at the fridge.

"I'll get them," I said, already going towards the fridge. I pulled out the carrots and grabbed a bowl and put in a handful.

"Here you go," I gave them to him and he clutched the bowl tightly with both hands and staggered off into the living room after mumbling a thank you.

We had a small quiet dinner. Sam, Emily, Kyle, Jacob and I.

Emily made a large round chocolate cake and lit candles that I blew out after them singing 'Happy Birthday'.

It was a lot better than any of my other birthdays.

I went to bed stuffed with cake and birthday wishes that night and fell asleep instantly.

The days dragged on slowly, the weather got slightly warmer and I think I actually saw a little slit of sun once.

February passed my quickly and June was starting to creep up, making people nervous about the wedding set for the 19th of June.

Emily and I were talking to Rachel and Rebecca about the wedding dress. Rachel did another twirl in Emily's living room, almost falling over. The white skirt flowed around her feet as she twirled, showing us the details and the beading on the front when the phone rang.

Emily disappeared into the kitchen and walked back in a minute later, eyes looking red, she gave the phone to Rachel.

Rachel put the phone to her ear and Rebecca leaned in so she could listen as well. Panic and shock covered their faces.

Rachel nodded and sniffled a little and pressed the 'off' button. She dropped down on a chair and was silent for a minute before bursting out crying.

Rebecca sobbed silently and shook her head.

I sat quietly, not wanting to ask what happened, my mind going crazy with the possibilities of all that could have happened.

Rebecca sniffled and looked at me.

"Dad's dead."

* * *

**Sorry! It's late, I know. I had to make a quick trip down to Oregon state. It came up kind of quickly so I didn't have the time to post this chapter before leaving. Only about two more and story's over. I had so much fun writing it I hope you guys enjoyed reading it at least half as much. I'm thinking of doing a Harry Potter fanfic next. If you've got any requests or ideas wanna maybe leave them in the reviews?**

**Thanks for all your reviews from the last chapter. I appreciate them so much!**

**Love,**

**Michelle.**


	11. Chapter 11

He never did bother to lock the door. Then again, if I were him I wouldn't be too worried about robbers either.

I pushed the door open and kicked my shoes off.

"Jake?" I called softly, walking into the living room. The living room was empty so I continued into the kitchen. Jake was standing over the sink with a mug in hand.

I silently walked up next to him.

"I'm sorry, Jake," I said softly.

A silence filled the space for a while and Jake drank the rest of his coffee before moving towards the coffee maker and refilling his cup.

"It's weird," he finally said, "You don't expect them to live forever but when they die, it still surprises you. It's like if a cancer patient is told they have two months to live and everyone knows it but it doesn't make anyone any less shocked when it finally happens."

I didn't want to say anything. I wasn't sure what to say. I've never lost a parent. Hell, I've never really had what I'd consider a parent.

"Funeral's going to be on Sunday," he sigh, "I-I mean, you don't have to go-"

"I'll go," I assured him.

"Thanks."

*

The week passed quickly and seemed to just melt together, I didn't know if it was Monday of Friday. Sunday came up quicker then I expect. Quicker than anyone had expected.

Dressed in black from head to toe, everyone made their way to the funeral. Rachel stood with Paul, eyes rimmed in red. Rebecca sat with Emily and Sam and I was with Jacob. The casket was closed. Jacob and the twins insisted it would be closed.

I tried not to think about what was happening, to not hear what people were saying. I just sat there and went along with what everyone else was doing hoping it would be over soon. I swear, half the town must have shown up. I guess when you like in a small place like this everyone knows everyone, and when someone dies, everyone feels it at least a little.

I gave Jacob's hand a tight, reassuring squeeze when it was all over and we stepped out into the pouring rain. I went to Emily's, giving Jacob some time alone.

Inside the warmth of Emily's house, I took off my wet clothes and changed quickly into a pair of sweat pants then sat downstairs in front of the large fire Sam must've lit in the fire place.

That week was one of those where you do the same things you normally do, only you don't really realize what you're doing, it just kind of hits you and you look around and think, 'How did I get here?'

The wedding date wasn't changed. They agreed Billy wouldn't want them to change the date on his account. Rachel asked Jacob to walk her down the aisle not that Billy couldn't do it.

After a week of sleep and alcohol, life seemed to go back to normal.

The clock on the wall seemed to get louder with every _tick _as it counted off the seconds as I sat in the counsellors office. I had enough high school credits and was hoping to graduate this year. My old high school expected more credits so I already had more than enough, as long as I ace all my courses this year I should be able to.

Mrs. Barnfods, the school counsellor was clicking away at the computer white I silently sat on the other side of her desk. Her pale blond hair tied back in a simple bun and her long red nails hit tapped on the edge of her desk as she stared at the screen.

"Well Lynn," she said, "you've got enough credits, and you're taking the rest of your required courses now so, as long as you don't fail any of them, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to graduate this year."

She didn't offer a smile, just a simple stare. I thanked her with a grin and had to stop myself from skipping down the hallways on my way out of school.

At home I gave Emily the good news. She congratulated me and looked back at the kitchen table, which was hidden under a pile of papers and a basket, what I assumed were wedding invitations and some pink ribbon.

"Wedding planning," Emily rolled her eyes, "I'm going to bake the wedding cake."

"Mmm, that's going to be a good cake," I said.

"Let's hope so."

The wedding date was sneaking up on us quickly. Everyone was excited and nervous and frustrated all at the same time. Emily and I escaped to Port Angeles first chance we got. I wanted to find a dress to wear. I never really had a reason to wear a pretty dress so I decided that this time I would.

We made a mess in the changing rooms. Dress after dress was brought in and most we'd try on and toss aside. Emily found a long lavender coloured dress with a deep V-neckline. I fell in love with a knee-length strap-less green sundress.

Jacob and I didn't get to spend as much time together as usual. Besides Saturday nights. I was usually either focusing on getting my grades up or helping Rachel. Jacob was usually working.

Though I was practically living in the same house as him now. I was at his house most of the time. Except for when I either needed Emily or was too lazy to make food then I'd also go to Emily's for food. This evening, flour coated every inch of the kitchen. Icing and chocolate sat in bowls on the counter and a large cake pan sat inside the oven filled with, what I assumed, was cake batter.

"You're a very messy person, you know?" I asked Emily pulling up a chair.

"Yeah," She shrugged, "Sam tells me that often enough."

I looked in the bowl next to me and found it to be full of chocolate. I dipped my finger in and licked the chocolate off.

"No," said Emily, "I need that for the cake. You and Kyle can share the bowl afterwards."

"What am I?" I rolled my eyes, "Five?"

"Yes."

* * *

**I think the next chapter will be the last one. I know this one was short and late. Forgive me? **

**And thank you for the reviews, thanks for reading, I appreciate it so much!**

**Later,**

**Michelle.**


	12. Chapter 12

Cheers filled the room as Rachel and Paul stepped out onto the dance floor to share their first dance as husband and wife.

Friends and family stood at the edge of the floor for a while, letting Rachel and Paul dance, before joining in them on the floor.

"Want to dance?" Jake asked, taking my hand in his own.

"Yes," I said, pulling him gently towards the dance floor.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close and I put my arms around his neck.

"You look beautiful by the way," he said as he kissed me.

"I try my best," I joke, I looked him up and down, black suit, green tie that matched the color of my dress, "You don't look so bad yourself."

"You know me," he said with a shrug, "I always look fantastic."

"I know," I almost giggled. No. Bad Lynn. No giggling.

The slow melody drifted through the air and we danced quietly for a few minutes. It always surprised me how warm and comfortable I was in his arms. I leaned my cheek on his chest and he held me close, his hands getting a little low.

"Hey," I said warningly. Jake laughed and put his hands back on the small of my back.

"Couldn't help it."

"Later," I smiled and kissed him.

"Hey, something I've been thinking of asking you," He cleared his throat and I raised my eyebrow at him, "I'm thinking you should move in with me. I mean, you'll be eighteen soon and you're graduating high school, if we don't work out you can always go back to Emily's."

The question surprised me and I bit my lip.

"Sure," I said after a pause, "I don't see why not. I practically live there anyways."

"Good," He nodded, "So after you graduate. I mean you've only got two weeks left, worry about that first then we'll worry about moving in. Unless you want to go to collage, then you know, we can figure something out."

"Nope," I said, "I don't think collage is for me. Though, I did notice Forks doesn't have a bookshop and I think the library is crap. Grandma left me some money so I figured sometime in the future I could always open and new and used books book store."

"I like that idea," one more thing I love about Jacob Black. Very encouraging.

"As for that whole Marcus and my house thing, I want to kill him as much as you do but for now I just really want to forget that ever happened," I wasn't so sure he'd agree with this one. I would deal with Marcus later. Now, I just want to enjoy life. It's going great, why bring it down my throwing Marcus back in it?

Jacob tensed for a few seconds and looked at me seriously, "You sure about that?"

"Yes."

He seemed disappointed for a moment then let out a sigh.

We'd be just fine. Things were going great and I'm sure in the end they'll be just fine. At that moment though I didn't want to think about anything else in the world besides Jacob and I.

He made me happy. I haven't been this happy for years and I don't want to think about anything other than being here with Jacob, in his arms, until I had to.

Jacob kissed me again.

"One more thing," he said quietly.

"What's that?" I asked smiling.

"I love you."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning like an idiot.

"I love you too."

* * *

**Yeah, ending was short but it turned out just how I wanted it. I had so much fun writing this. I think I'll take a week or two before starting another story. Any suggestions?**

**And a big fat thank you to everyone who has read or reviewed (or both) this story. I love you guys like crazy.**

**Lots of love,**

**Michelle.**


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